Vision system for a vehicle

ABSTRACT

A vision system for a vehicle includes a mirror mounting button attached at a first location at an in-cabin surface of a windshield and an attachment member attached at a second location at the in-cabin surface of the windshield. A light absorbing layer is disposed at the windshield and at least partially masks the presence of the attachment member from view by a viewer who is viewing through the windshield from outside the vehicle. An accessory module is releasably attached to the attachment member and accommodates a forward facing camera. With the accessory module releasably attached to the attachment member at the windshield, the forward facing camera views through the windshield. The forward facing camera includes a component of a camera-based driver assistance system of the vehicle.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 13/749,838, filed Jan. 25, 2013, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,749,367,which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/689,801,filed Nov. 30, 2012, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,692,659, which is acontinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/345,303, filed Jan.6, 2012, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,325,028, which is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 13/039,962, filed Mar. 3, 2011, now U.S.Pat. No. 8,094,002, which is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 12/764,359, filed Apr. 21, 2010, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,916,009,which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/276,770,filed Nov. 24, 2008, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,728,721, which is acontinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/441,592, filed May26, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,460,007, which is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 10/940,545, filed Sep. 14, 2004, now U.S.Pat. No. 7,053,761, which is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 10/232,122, filed Aug. 30, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,975,215,which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/710,016,filed Nov. 10, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,445,287, which is acontinuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/513,941,filed Feb. 28, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,294,989, which are incorporatedby reference herein in their entireties; and U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 12/764,359 is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 12/759,305, filed Apr. 13, 2010, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,309,907,which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/467,660,filed May 18, 2009, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,888,629, which is a continuationof U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/197,660, filed Aug. 25, 2008, nowU.S. Pat. No. 7,538,316, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/828,880, filed Jul. 26, 2007, now U.S. Pat. No.7,420,159, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/699,271, filed Jan. 29, 2007, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,265,342, which is acontinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/418,906, filed May5, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,262,406, which is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 10/913,748, filed Aug. 6, 2004, now U.S.Pat. No. 7,041,965, which is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 10/618,334, filed Jul. 11, 2003, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,774,356,which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/997,579,filed Nov. 29, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,593,565, which is acontinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/433,467, filed Nov.4, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,326,613.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to vehicular function monitoring anddisplay systems. More particularly, the invention is related to a systemfor assisting the manual inflating of tires while mounted on the wheelsof a vehicle. Most particularly, this invention is related to a systemfor assisting the manual inflating of tires of the vehicle that includesan indicator assembly positioned on an exterior vehicle portion such asan exterior mirror assembly.

Remote tire pressure sensors have been developed which sense tirepressure and transmit, such as via a radio frequency link, the tirepressure to a vehicle-based controller. The information regarding tirepressure may be used to control vehicle safety-based devices, such asride and comfort control systems, road-handling systems, brakingsystems, and the like. It is also known to utilize such sensors incombination with tires that can run without inflation in order to warnthe driver that the tire is operating in an emergency mode and should bedriven at a limited speed for a limited distance.

It is known to utilize various gauges and displays in view of thedriver. For example, it is known to place a display of vehicle tirepressure within the interior cabin of the vehicle in view of the driver.This includes displaying the vehicle tire pressure in an interiormirror-based display. Typically, such displays mounted in the interiorcabin provide a read-out of the inflation status of individual tires onthe vehicle, such as an alphanumerical read-out of tire pressure or anicon indicative of tire pressure status. For example, a read-out or anicon indicative of the individual tire pressures at the four wheels onan automobile can be displayed at the reflective element of the interiorrearview mirror assembly. While such displays alert the driver of thevehicle sitting in the interior vehicular cabin when the vehicle isoperating as to the inflation status of individual tires present on thevehicle, they are little to no aid to a driver or other person whileactually pumping air into or bleeding air from an individual tire inresponse to recognition of an undesired tire inflation pressure. Whilepumping air into or bleeding air from a tire mounted on a vehicle (suchas commonly occurs at service stations and the like), a person typicallyuses an air line connected to an air compressor. The air line ismanually connected to an inflation valve provided at the vehicular tire;the person presses the air line to a nipple of the tire valve, and, byso doing, pressurized air is allowed pass through the tire valve, orescape from the tire valve, to inflate or deflate tire pressure to thedesired pressure value. To so do, typically the engine is turned off andthe driver exits the vehicle, and crouches down at a particular wheel ona side of the vehicle in order to adjust the tire pressure at thatparticular wheel. While so doing, the driver typically does not have aview of the vehicle interior, and typically relies on a hand-held tirepressure gauge or on a gauge provided on the air line used for tirepressure adjustment. Thus, even though the vehicle tire may be equippedwith a sensor for measuring the air pressure in the tire, in systemsknown to date, this tire pressure monitoring sensor does not provide areadily readable indication of correct or incorrect tire inflationpressure to the person external to the vehicle who is adjusting the tirepressure in that tire on the vehicle, and especially while that personis in the act of adjusting that tire pressure.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a new and useful system that provides anindicator external of the vehicle to indicate the inflation condition ofthe vehicle tires. The present invention provides a readilyinterpretable indication of correct or incorrect tire inflation pressureto a person external to the vehicle who is adjusting the tire pressurein that tire on the vehicle, and especially while that person is in theact of adjusting that tire pressure. Preferably, the indicator ispositioned at an exterior vehicle portion, such as a vehicle exteriorrearview mirror assembly, where the indicator can be observed by a userinflating or deflating the vehicle tires located at the vehicle side ofthat exterior vehicle portion. However, the present invention may alsobe used as a convenient indicator to the driver or passenger entering avehicle that one or more of the vehicle tires are in an under-pressureor over-pressure condition.

According to the invention, a tire inflation monitoring system suitablefor use on a vehicle is provided that comprises at least one tireinflation indicator assembly positioned at an exterior vehicle portionat a side of the vehicle and visible exterior the vehicle. The at leastone tire inflation indicator assembly provides an indication of theinflation condition of at least one vehicle tire positioned at that sideof the vehicle, and wherein the tire inflation monitoring systemincludes a control receiving at least one input from at least one tirepressure sensor sensing pressure of the at least one vehicle tire, andthe control producing an output to illuminate the at least one tireinflation indicator assembly in response to a tire pressure condition.

A vehicle exterior rearview mirror system, according to an aspect of theinvention, includes at least one exterior rearview mirror assemblymounted on a side of the vehicle. The exterior rearview mirror assemblyincludes a reflective element and a support for the reflective element.The system further includes a tire inflation monitor including at leastone tire inflation indicator assembly positioned at the exteriorrearview mirror assembly and visible exterior of the vehicle. The atleast one indicator assembly provides an indication of the inflationcondition of at least one of the vehicle tires mounted to wheels of thevehicle on the side of the vehicle to which the exterior mirror assemblyis mounted. The tire inflation monitor includes a control receiving atleast one input from at least one tire pressure sensor sensing pressureof at least one of the vehicle tires. The tire inflation monitor furtherincludes a control producing an output to illuminate the at least onetire inflation indicator assembly.

By providing a tire inflation monitor visible exterior of the vehicle,the present invention provides an indication to a vehicle user at adesirable location that provides a useful assistance to the user, or anattendant, inflating the vehicle tires. This is accomplished byproviding a tire inflation indicator at the exterior rearview mirrorassembly in order to be visible at the vehicle tires. As the vehicletires are inflated from an under-pressure to an operating pressurerange, the indicator provides an indication of this change. Theindicator may also provide an indication when the tires are inflated toan over-inflated condition. The invention also provides a usefulindication as the driver enters the vehicle or exits the vehicle thatattention to the tires is necessary.

These and other objects, advantages, and features of this invention willbecome apparent upon review of the following specification inconjunction with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a vehicle exterior rearview mirror systemequipped with tire pressure indicator assemblies, according to theinvention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the vehicle in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a vehicle exterior rearview mirrorassembly, according to the invention;

FIG. 4 is the same view as FIG. 3 of an alternative embodiment thereof;

FIG. 5 is the same view as FIG. 3 of an alternative embodiment thereof;

FIG. 6 is an electrical block diagram of a tire inflation monitoringsystem, according to the invention;

FIG. 6A is an electrical block diagram of another embodiment of the tireinflation monitoring system according to the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a front elevation view of a video mirror system incorporatinga tire pressure display of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged perspective view of a rearview mirror supportincorporating a tire pressure display of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a side elevation view of an accessory module/mirror systemincorporating a vehicle tire pressure monitoring system of the presentinvention;

FIG. 10 is a front elevation view of another embodiment of an accessorymodule/mirror system incorporating a tire pressure monitoring and/ordisplay system of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a side elevation view of the accessory module/mirror systemof FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is an enlarged side elevation view similar to FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is an exploded side elevation view of the accessorymodule/mirror system of FIGS. 10-12;

FIG. 14 is a partial front elevation view of another embodiment of anaccessory module incorporating the tire pressure monitoring and/ordisplay system of the present invention;

FIG. 15 is an exploded perspective view of another embodiment of anaccessory module/mirror system incorporating a tire pressure monitoringand/or display system of the present invention;

FIG. 15A is a partial perspective view of the accessory module of FIG.15 illustrating a portion of the module telescoping between two viewingpositions;

FIG. 16 is a side elevation view of another embodiment of an accessorymodule/mirror system incorporating a tire pressure monitoring and/ordisplay system of the present invention;

FIG. 16A is a side elevation view of another embodiment of an accessorymodule/mirror system incorporating a tire pressure monitoring and/ordisplay system of the present invention;

FIG. 16B is a side elevation view of another embodiment of an accessorymodule/mirror system incorporating a tire pressure monitoring and/ordisplay system of the present invention;

FIG. 17 is a side elevation view of another embodiment of a video mirrorsystem incorporating a tire pressure monitoring and/or display system ofthe present invention;

FIG. 18 is a side elevation view of another embodiment of a video mirrorsystem incorporating a tire pressure monitoring and/or display system ofthe present invention;

FIG. 19 is another embodiment of a video mirror system and a videodisplay assembly incorporating a tire pressure monitoring and/or displaysystem of the present invention;

FIG. 20A is a rear perspective view of a video mirror systemincorporating a tire pressure monitoring and/or display system of thepresent invention;

FIG. 20B is a rear perspective view of a video display attachment mountfor the video mirror system of FIG. 20A;

FIG. 21A is a side elevation view of a video mirror system of FIG. 20Awith the video display assembly moved to a stowed position;

FIG. 21B is a similar view to FIG. 21A illustrating the video displayhousing moved to a viewing position;

FIG. 22A is a similar view to FIG. 21A illustrating the video displayassembly moved to a second viewing position;

FIG. 22B is a similar view to FIG. 22A illustrating the video displayhousing rotated to another viewing position;

FIG. 23 is a side elevation view of another embodiment of a video mirrorsystem incorporating a tire pressure monitoring and/or display system ofthe present invention;

FIG. 24 is a side elevation view of another embodiment of a video mirrorsystem incorporating a tire pressure monitoring and/or display system ofthe present invention; and

FIG. 24A is a side elevation view of yet another embodiment of a videomirror system incorporating a tire pressure monitoring and/or displaysystem of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring now specifically to the drawings, and the illustrativeembodiments depicted therein, a vehicle exterior rearview mirror system10 for use with vehicle 12 includes one or more exterior rearview mirrorassemblies 14 and a tire inflation monitoring system 16 (FIGS. 1, 2 and6). Tire inflation monitoring system 16 includes at least one tirepressure indicator assembly 19 positioned at exterior rearview mirrorassembly 14, a control 18, and one or more tire pressure sensors 20,each associated with one of the vehicle tires. Each tire pressure sensor20 is connected wirelessly with control 18 by a wireless communicationlink 22 that, in the illustrated embodiment, is a radio frequency (RF)link. Tire pressure sensor 20 is commercially available from severalsources and conventionally includes a wireless communication link 22with a vehicle controller. Control 18 is an electronic control, and ispreferably a microprocessor-based electronic control, but may,alternatively, be a digital logic controller, an analog controller, orthe like. Preferably, control 18 performs additional vehicle functions.Most preferably, control 18 is interconnected with a vehicle serial bussystem such as of the type disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No.5,959,367, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein byreference.

Exterior rearview mirror assembly 14 includes a reflective element 24and a support 26 supporting the reflective element by vehicle 12 (FIGS.3-5). As is conventional, support 26 includes a fixed portion 28attached to vehicle 12 and a movable portion (not shown) which movablysupports reflective element 24. Preferably, the movable portion is anelectrically controlled actuator of the type disclosed in commonlyassigned patent application Ser. No. 09/228,348, filed Jan. 11, 1999,now U.S. Pat. No. 6,213,612, the disclosure of which is herebyincorporated herein by reference. Reflective element 24 may be any ofseveral reflectors such as glass coated on its first or second surfacewith a suitable reflective layer or layers, such as disclosed in U.S.Pat. No. 5,179,471, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporatedherein by reference, or, preferably, an electro-optic reflectiveelement, and, most preferably, an electrochromic mirror element.However, the invention applies to all forms of reflective element 24.Electrochromic reflective elements 24 may be of any type such asdisclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,902,108 issued to Byker; commonly assignedU.S. Pat. No. 5,668,663 issued to Varaprasad et al.; commonly assignedU.S. Pat. No. 5,724,187 issued to Varaprasad et al; commonly assignedU.S. Pat. No. 6,002,511 issued to Varaprasad et al.; commonly assignedU.S. Pat. No. 5,140,455 issued to Varaprasad et al.; commonly assignedU.S. Pat. No. 5,910,854 issued to Varaprasad et al. and commonlyassigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/429,643, filed Apr. 27,1995, by Varaprasad et al., now U.S. Pat. No. 5,724,187, the disclosuresof which are hereby all incorporated herein by reference. Electrochromicreflective elements 24 include electrochromic units, or cells, thatdecrease in transmissivity in response to a drive signal appliedthereto. Most preferably, reflective element 24 comprises a frontsubstrate and a rear substrate with an electrochromic medium disposedbetween, such as a solid polymer matrix electrochromic medium such as isdisclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/350,930, filed Jul. 12,1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,154,306, the entire disclosure of which ishereby incorporated by reference herein. Most preferably, the frontsubstrate comprises a glass plate of thickness less than about 1.6 mm,most preferably about 1.1 mm thickness or lower, and the rear substratecomprises a glass plate of thickness equal to or greater than about 1.6mm, more preferably greater than about 1.8 mm thickness, most preferablyequal to or greater than about 2.0 mm thickness. The rearmost surface ofthe rear substrate (the fourth surface as known in the mirror art) isreflector coated with a high reflecting metal film such as of aluminumor silver, or an alloy of aluminum or silver. Most preferably, thefrontmost surface of the rear substrate (the third surface as known inthe mirror art) is reflector coated with a high reflecting metal filmsuch as of aluminum or silver, or an alloy of aluminum or silver,optionally overcoated with a transparent electronic conductor coatingsuch as of indium tin oxide or of doped tin oxide.

Exterior rearview mirror assembly 14 may include other elements andfunctions as disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,019,475;5,371,659; 5,971,552; and 5,497,306, the disclosures of which are herebyincorporated herein by reference.

Tire inflation indicator assembly 19 preferably generates a pattern oflight P viewable from the location of the tires of the vehicle on theside of the vehicle with which tire pressure sensors 20 are associated.In this manner, a user of the vehicle or an attendant or mechanic mayinflate the vehicle tires while observing the pattern of light Pgenerated by the tire pressure indicator assembly 19. This may beaccomplished by mounting tire inflation indicator assembly 19 to a lowersurface 30 of the portion of exterior rearview mirror assembly 14 thathouses the mirror reflector. In addition to producing a pattern of lightP, which is visible at the tires on the side of the vehicle with whichthe associated tire inflation indicator assembly 19 is located, thepattern of light P preferably will not be substantially visible to thedriver of the vehicle. This avoids any distraction to the driver fromthe tire inflation indicator assembly while the driver is in thevehicle. Furthermore, there is less wind noise below the exteriorrearview mirror assembly 14. Thus, the presence of the tire pressureindicator assembly there does not substantially contribute to wind noisegenerated by the exterior rearview mirror assembly. Furthermore, thebottom portion of exterior rearview mirror assembly 14 is typicallyhollow and provides a convenient attachment point for the tire inflationindicator assembly. Because the exterior mirror assembly protrudesoutwardly from the vehicle body, locating the tire inflation indicatorassembly at the exterior mirror assembly, and especially at a lowerportion of the part of the exterior mirror assembly that houses themirror reflector element, is advantageous. This is because such alocation renders the indicator of the tire inflation indicator assemblyreadily visible to a person positioned at either or both of the frontwheel tire and the rear wheel tire of the vehicle who isinflating/deflating a tire, and especially when the person adjusting thetire pressure is crouched down at a vehicle wheel tire while manuallyadjusting its tire pressure. For example, a tire inflation indicatorassembly that includes a light source, such as a light-emitting diode,can protrude from the underside of the casing part of the exteriormirror assembly that houses the mirror reflector element. Thus, whetherthe user adjusting tire pressure is located at a front wheel tire or arear wheel tire at one of the driver side or the passenger side of thevehicle, the user can see a single indicator of the tire inflationindicator assembly that is positioned below the casing of the exteriormirror assembly on that side, and that preferably protrudes therefrom(for example, as a pendant element), as he or she crouches down at thatparticular wheel tire on that particular vehicle side. It is preferable,for economy, that a single tire inflation indicator assembly be providedon an exterior vehicle portion of a side of the vehicle at a locationvisible to a person inflating either a front wheel tire of that side ora rear wheel tire of that side.

In an alternative embodiment, a tire inflation indicator assembly 19 amay be positioned at fixed portion 28 of support 26. In the embodimentillustrated in FIG. 4, tire inflation indicator assembly 19 a isillustrated on a surface directed rearwardly of vehicle 12 where itwould generate a pattern of light visible at a rear tire of the vehicleon the side of the vehicle on which tire inflation indicator assembly 19a is located. Another tire inflation indicator assembly (not shown) maybe positioned on a forward-facing portion of fixed portion 28, therebybeing visible at the area around the forward tire on the same side ofthe vehicle on which the tire inflation assembly is located.

In another alternative embodiment illustrated in FIG. 5, a tireinflation indicator assembly 19 b is positioned with the movable portionof support 26, such as on reflective element 24. Preferably, tireinflation indicator assembly 19 b is positioned behind reflectiveelement 24, thereby protected from environmental elements such as roadsplash, car washes, and the like. This is accomplished by removing aportion of a reflective coating on reflective element 24 such that tireinflation indicator assembly 19 b is viewable through reflective element24 (or by using a semitransparent mirror reflector such a dichroicmirror element such as is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,361,190, theentire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein).Tire inflation indicator assembly 19 b may be joined with reflectiveelement 24 according to the principles disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.5,416,313, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein byreference.

Other mountings for tire inflation indicator assembly, according to theinvention, may be apparent to the skilled artisan. For example, the tireinflation indicator assembly may be mounted at the sail portion 30 ofexterior rearview member assembly 14 or a portion of vehicle 12 adjacentto exterior rearview mirror assembly 14. Also, the tire inflationindicator assembly can be located at an exterior vehicle portion otherthan at the exterior mirror assembly. For example, a tire inflationindicator assembly can be located at a vehicle body side panel, such asat or part of a side marker assembly, or as part of a door panelassembly. Optionally, a tire inflation indicator assembly can be locatedat each wheel tire location, so that a person inflating or deflating aparticular tire can see the indicator of tire pressure local to theparticular wheel tire being inflated/deflated. Other elements may becombined with the tire inflation indicator assembly. For example, atemperature sensor for sensing the exterior temperature surrounding thevehicle may be positioned in a common housing with the tire inflationindicator assembly. Furthermore, the tire inflation indicator assemblymay be positioned at a side-mounted camera assembly for a rearviewcamera vision system of the type disclosed in commonly assignedInternational Publication WO 96/38319, published Dec. 5, 1996, thedisclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.

Tire inflation indicator system 16 optionally comprises a lockout 33that prevents inadvertent actuation of tire inflation indicatorassemblies 19 during operation of vehicle 12. Such lockouts areconventional and preferably comprise a circuit that is responsive to thevehicle being placed in gear to the vehicle reaching a determined speed(such as at least 5 miles per hour), or to turning an ignition switch tooperate the engine. When the lockout circuit senses that the vehicle isoperating or in a condition to operate, operation of tire inflationindicator assemblies 19 is optionally disabled. Thus, receipt of aninput indicative of operation of the vehicle by tire pressure monitoringcontroller 18 from lockout 33 would disable operation of tire inflationindicator assemblies 19. Thus, and optionally, control 18 processes theinput 32 in order to lock out illumination of tire inflation indicatorassemblies 19 during operation of vehicle 12. This further reduces thelikelihood of the tire inflation monitoring system providing adistraction not only to the driver of vehicle 12 during normal drivingof vehicle 12, but also to operators of vehicles in the vicinity ofvehicle 12. Tire inflation monitoring system 16 may additionally receivean input 34 indicative of the locked state of the vehicle doors.Preferably, control 18 provides outputs to illuminate tire inflationindicator assemblies 19 only when the vehicle doors are in an unlockedstate, which is likely when the tires of the vehicle are being inflated.Most preferably, control 18 is capable of illuminating tire inflationindicator assemblies 19 in response to a sensed tire inflation conditiononly for a predetermined period of time after door lock input 34indicates that the vehicle doors have changed to an unlocked state and,optionally and preferably, after ignition sensing circuit 32 indicatesthat the vehicle ignition is not operating (i.e., the engine is off).This period of time, which is determined by timeout 37, may be less thanor equal to about two hours and, preferably, less than or equal to about30 minutes. Most preferably, this predetermined period of time is lessthan or equal to about 15 minutes. Control 18 may additionally produceoutputs to illuminate tire inflation indicator assemblies 19 in responseto a tire pressure sensor 20 sensing commencement of a manual tirepressure adjust event such as by sensing a change in pressure of itsassociated tire indicative of a user of the vehicle inflating/deflatingthat tire, or sensing depression of the close-out nipple provided in thetire valve stem to allow connection to an air hose/to allow bleed off oftire pressure. In this manner, the tire inflation indicator assembly isilluminated when it is of assistance to the manual inflation of thetires. The tire inflation assembly may stay capable of illuminationafter a given event (such as unlocking a door, opening a door, turningoff the vehicle ignition, detection of an indication of a manual tirepressure adjust event) for a predetermined period of time which, forexample, is less than or equal to about two hours and, preferably, isless than or equal to about 30 minutes and, most preferably, is lessthan or equal to about 15 minutes.

Provision of door lock input 34 and/or ignition sensing circuit 32and/or timeout 37 is advantageous towards ensuring that the tireinflation indicator system 16 remains armed and powered for a sufficienttime period to allow the driver to pull up to a service station toservice tire pressures, but not so that the tire inflation indicatorsystem 16 would remain powered and armed all the time a vehicle isparked (and thus risk depleting the vehicle battery which typicallyoperates at 12 volts nominal). Since sensors 19, controller 18 and otherelectronic elements of system 16 require electric power to operate, andsince when stopped at a service station it is usual and safest to turnoff the vehicle ignition while attending to the tire pressures, tireinflation indicator system 16 typically will operate on vehicle batterypower while the driver is inflating/deflating tires on wheels mounted tothe vehicle, and so system 16 includes a battery depletion protection toobviate running down the battery when the vehicle is normally parked.

Tire inflation indicator system 16 optionally comprises a tire pressureadjust sensor 39 that provides an input to controller 18 alerting that amanual tire pressure adjust event is beginning. Thus, for example, whenthe vehicle is parked, tire inflation indicator system 16 optionallyremains in a quiescent, armed mode (that draws very little current fromthe vehicle battery, with a current draw of less than about 15 milliampspreferred, a current draw of less than about 10 milliamps morepreferred, and a current draw of less than about 5 milliamps mostpreferred). Thus, even when prolonged parked, tire inflation indicatorsystem 16 is powered but active only in a monitoring, low-current state,and with controller 18 monitoring an input from tire pressure adjustsensor 39. When a manual tire pressure adjust event is detected by tirepressure adjust sensor 39 (such as by detection of depression of theclose-off nipple in the valve stem at the particular wheel tire at aside of the vehicle a person is manually inflating from a compressed airline, or by detection of a change in tire pressure indicative of auser-actuated tire inflate/deflate event), controller 18 activates theappropriate tire inflation indicator assembly 19 on that particularvehicle side in order to indicate to the person attending to the tire,who typically is crouching down at the wheel tire, the tire pressurestatus in that particular tire. Since significant current consumption istypically only required by the indicator light sources themselves, useof tire pressure adjust sensor 39 can allow system 16 to be in an armedbut low power state continually and with the vehicle parked and thevehicle ignition turned off so that vehicle battery power alone isprovided to system 16. Once tire pressure adjust sensor 39 detects thatthe tire adjust event is complete and/or timeout 37 times-out, anyillumination of indicator(s) 19 can cease, and system 16 can revert toits quiescent, low current consumption state (and so minimize depletionof vehicle battery charge).

Note also that an interior cabin display of tire pressure status (suchas via a display at a location within the vehicle interior cabin such asat or on the interior rearview mirror assembly) can optionally beprovided as part of system 16, most preferably though only when ignitionsensing circuit 32 indicates that the vehicle ignition is operationaland the engine is running. Thus, when operating the vehicle whiledriving on the highway, or when stopped with the engine running, thedriver can view a display located in the interior cabin that alerts asto tire pressure status at the individual vehicle wheels. When thedriver determines that the tire pressure at a particular wheel needsadjustment, he or she can drive to a service station or the like, stopat an air compressor, preferably (for safety) turn off the engine, andexit the vehicle to manually inflate/deflate the particular tire, whileaided by the tire inflation assistance monitoring system of this presentinvention. Alternately, the driver can remain in the vehicle, and have aservice attendant manually inflate/deflate the particular tire, whileaided by the tire inflation assistance monitoring system of this presentinvention. Provision of the tire inflation assistance monitoring systemof this present invention as an additional feature to an interiorvehicle cabin tire pressure status displaying system is a significantenhancement to such a system, and it can be added economically, giventhat many of the components, such as tire pressure sensors, wirelesstransmission transmitter/receivers and the like, are already existing inthe interior vehicle cabin tire pressure status displaying system.

Tire inflation indicator assembly 19 may include a plurality ofdifferent colored indicators or lamps in order to indicate variousinflation conditions of the tires of vehicle 12. Such indicators can becoded (such as by color coding, intensity coding, frequency of flashcoding, sequence coding, positional coding or the like) in order tosignal to the driver when the tire pressure is below, at, or above thedesired tire pressure. For example, one such indicator may be a greenindicator which indicates that the pressure of the monitored tire ortires is within an acceptable pressure range, such as recommended by themanufacturer of the vehicle. A red indicator may illuminate when thepressure monitored by pressure sensor 20 is less than that recommendedby the vehicle operator. The red indicator may flash when the pressuresensed by a pressure sensor 20 is greater than the range of pressuresrecommended by the vehicle manufacturer. Preferably, tire inflationindicator assembly 19 includes a single color indicator in order toreduce the cost thereof. The single color indicator may, for example, bea green indicator which is illuminated in a steady fashion when thepressure sensed by tire pressure sensor 20 is within an acceptable rangerecommended by the vehicle manufacturer and flashing when outside ofthat range. Preferably, the indicator may flash at a first rate, such asat a relatively slow rate, when the pressure sensed by the pressuresensor 20 is less than the range recommended by the vehicle manufacturerand at a faster rate when the pressure sensed by sensor 20 is above therange recommended by the vehicle manufacturer. This single colorindicator could be in an OFF condition during inflation of the tireuntil the inflation condition reaches the normal operating rangerecommended by the vehicle manufacturer. Other lamp operation protocolsmay suggest themselves to the skilled artisan.

Preferably, tire inflation indicator 19 includes one or morelight-emitting light sources, such as solid-state light emitting diodes(LEDs), available from numerous sources. Various colors of LED can beused (or combined) such as blue, white, orange, yellow, red, amber andred-orange. Alternatively, the tire inflation indicator may be suppliedas a conventional incandescent light source, a halogen light source, afluorescent light source such as a vacuum fluorescent lamp, a light pipesuch as fiber-optic bundle forming a light pipe, and the like. Mostpreferably, illumination by the tire inflation indicator is achievedusing non-incandescent light sources, such as light-emitting diodes(LEDs), organic light-emitting material, electroluminescent sources(both organic and inorganic), and the like, and most preferably suchnon-incandescent sources are low power and are directed sources, such asdescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,938,321 and application Ser. No.09/287,926, filed Apr. 7, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,139,172, which areincorporated herein by reference in their entireties, and in such as isdisclosed in co-assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/466,010,filed Dec. 17, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,420,975, the entire disclosureof which is hereby incorporated by reference herein, and in co-assignedU.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/449,121, filed Nov. 24, 1999, nowU.S. Pat. No. 6,428,172, the entire disclosure of which is herebyincorporated by reference herein.

The light source of tire inflation indicator assembly 19 can include alens, which may be supplied as a segmented lens, a prismatic lens, or aFresnel lens, which may be clear or tinted, and may be provided oversuch light source.

Other modifications may include providing an input 36 from a vehiclekeyless entry system. Control 18 may respond to input 36 by providingoutputs to illuminate tire inflation indicators 19 upon the useroperating the keyless entry system to unlock the doors. The control 18would preferably illuminate tire inflation indicator assemblies 19 uponactuation of the keyless entry system until the outputs to the tireinflation indicator assemblies are locked out by receiving an input 32indicating that the vehicle is operating and/or until after apredetermined time interval, determined by timeout 37, has elapsed.Although the invention is illustrated in use with an exterior vehicleportion such as exterior rearview mirror assemblies, a tire inflationindicator assembly, according to the invention, could also be positionedwithin the interior cabin of the vehicle, such as at a vehicle interiorrearview mirror assembly 228 (FIG. 1), or at an inner cabin roof portionsuch as a header console 229, or at an instrumentation panel 227, or thelike. However, this is less preferred as an interior cabin portion suchas the interior mirror assembly is not as readily visible to a personinflating a tire mounted on a vehicular wheel (as compared to mountingthe indicator of the tire inflation indicator assembly on an exteriorvehicle portion such as an exterior side view mirror assembly, or at/ona side marker turn indicator, or at/on an exterior side body panel suchas a door panel, wheel well, fender portion or at/on a door handleassembly or the like). Also, the tire inflation indicator assembly canoptionally be provided as part of the vehicle wheel assembly itself. Forexample, the valve provided at the wheel tire to inflate the tire caninclude a tire inflation indicator assembly (such as a non-incandescentlight emitting source such as an electroluminescent source (organic orinorganic) or a light-emitting diode) which has a light emission codedto the inflation status of the tire.

Also, the tire inflation indicator assembly, according to the invention,can be mounted at, or combined with, a light assembly already present onan exterior vehicle portion such as a mirror-mounted turn signal or aside marker turn signal or an exterior mirror-mounted security light.Thus, for example, a side marker turn signal light source present on theside body panel for the purpose of signaling a lane change when a turnsignal stalk in the interior vehicle cabin is actuated can also servethe dual purpose of acting as the tire inflation indicator for the tireinflation indicator assembly, according to the invention, and with theinflation status being indicated to the person inflating a tire on theside of the vehicle on which the side marker turn signal is mounted byflashing the turn signal to a code pattern determined and understood tosignal a below-desired tire pressure state, a desired tire pressurestate, and/or an overly inflated tire pressure state. Likewise, amirror-mounted signal light or a security light, such as are disclosedin U.S. Pat. No. 5,669,704, the entire disclosure of which is herebyincorporated by reference herein, can be similarly used fordual-purposes.

Optionally, an audible tire inflation indicator can be provided inaddition to (or as an alternate to) the visible tire inflationindicators described above for the tire inflation monitoring systems ofthe present invention. Thus, and referring to FIG. 6, tire inflationindicator system 116 is similar to tire inflation indicator system 16described above. Thus, tire inflation indicator system 116 includes atire pressure monitoring controller 118 (that typically includes anantenna, a microprocessor and associated electronic circuitry and thatpreferably includes user actuation/manual input elements such asswitches or buttons or voice actuated input elements that allow a driverselect, for example, a particular tire for display of its tire pressureor change the display from Imperial units to Metric units or enter a“training” mode whereby the driver can identify to the controller thelocation of a tire sensor on a particular wheel of the vehicle so that,during, for example, a tire rotation, the controller can learn whichsensor is on what wheel such as by, for example, the driver “burping”tire pressure on a particular identified wheel such as the frontpassenger-side wheel when the system is in “learning” mode so that thecontroller can associate that particular wireless broadcast signal withthat particular wheel) that receives tire pressure level input signals122 a, 122 b, 122 c, 122 d (preferably via short-range RF wirelesstransmission and most preferably in accordance with the BLUETOOTHprotocol) from tire pressure sensors 120 a, 120 b, 120 c, 120 d located,respectively, within the pressurized cavity of the front passenger-sidetire, the front driver-side tire, the rear passenger-side tire and therear driver-side tire (said tires mounted onto the respective wheels ofa vehicle). System 116 is optionally, and preferably provided with atleast one of lockout 133, door lock status input 134, ignition sensingcircuit 132, timeout 137, and tire pressure adjust sensor 139(preferably, one such tire pressure adjust sensors at each wheel of thevehicle). System 116 also preferably includes visible exteriorpassenger-side mounted tire inflation indicator 119 (preferably apassenger-side exterior side view mirror-mounted visible mounted tireinflation indicator) and visible exterior driver-side mounted tireinflation indicator 119′ (preferably a driver-side exterior side viewmirror-mounted visible mounted tire inflation indicator) that operatesas described above. System 116 also includes audible tire inflationindicator 145. Audible tire inflation indicator 145 can be of severaltypes. For example, audible tire inflation indicator 145 can comprise asound-generating microchip or similar solid-state sound or audible tonegenerating element that is part of tire pressure sensors 120 a-d andthat “chirps” or sounds or otherwise gives an audible sound coded to thestate of inflation of the tire while air is being pumped in or bled outby a driver or service attendant during a tire inflation/deflation eventsuch as at an air pump at a service station. The tone or audiblesignature of audible tire inflation indicator 145 can signal to thedriver or service attendant, while that person is in the act ofadjusting air pressure of a particular tire on a vehicle such as at aservice station, whether the instantaneous tire pressure of theparticular tire being serviced is at, below or above the tire pressurerecommended for that particular tire on that particular model vehicle(and optionally, at the particular ambient temperature and/or vehicleload at which the tire pressure adjust event is occurring). Note thatwhere a solid-state sound generator is used as audible tire inflationindicator 145, and where it is incorporated as part of a tire pressuresensor that is located within the pressurized-air tire cavity of avehicular wheel, then audible tire inflation indicator 145 canoptionally, and preferably, operate as part of the tire pressure sensoritself without a need for wireless transmission to and from an interiorcabin-mounted controller 118. In this regard, the tire sensor, theaudible tire inflation indicator and the controller are collocated aspart of the same tire cavity-mounted tire pressure sensing module.Alternately, audible tire inflation indicator 145 can comprise thevehicle horn. In such an embodiment, and while the person is actuallyadjusting the tire pressure on a particular tire when external to thevehicle (and typically crouched down at that particular wheel beingserviced and preferably with the vehicle ignition turned off), awheel-mounted tire pressure sensor 120 a (taking the example where theperson is outside the vehicle adjusting the tire pressure of the frontpassenger-side wheel) transmits a wireless signal 122 a that is receivedat vehicle tire pressure monitoring controller 118 that is preferablylocated within the interior cabin of the vehicle (preferably at, on, orwithin an interior rearview mirror assembly or at, on or within adisplay assembly such as a flip-down video display assembly, asdescribed below). Controller 118 processes signal 122 a, and determineswhether the tire pressure being sensed by tire sensor 120 a is below,at, or above the tire pressure recommended by the vehiclemanufacturer/tire manufacturer for that particular model/type of tire onthat particular model vehicle (optionally taking into account theambient temperature the vehicle is operating in and the load in thevehicle, such as might be determined by sensors associated with andsensing the vehicle suspension system). Dependent on the tire pressuresensed, controller 118 causes the circuitry controlling the vehicle hornto cause the horn to sound an audible signal or pattern of sounds thatsignal to the person adjusting the front passenger-side tire pressurethat that tire is below, above and/or at the desired tire pressurerecommended for that particular tire, and that audibly guide or promptthat person to pump more air in or bleed air out in order to adjust thattire's pressure to the correct pressure level, for example, 35 psi(pounds per square inch). In addition, and optionally and preferably,visual passenger-side tire inflation indicator 119 can visually signalthe instantaneous tire pressure being sensed at the front passenger-sidewheel as its tire pressure is being adjusted. To avoid distracting orperturbing others in the vicinity, the sound level emitted by the carhorn when functioning as an audible tire pressure indicator can bereduced in level from that normal for the horn, and it can also be of asound pattern distinctive to a particular brand of vehicle/automaker sothat a person adjusting tire pressure on his or her vehicle can identifyand distinguish the audible tire pressure adjust signal of that person'svehicle from other audible signals from other vehicles, including fromany other audible tire pressure indicator device-equipped vehicle thathappens to be undergoing a tire pressure adjust in the immediatevicinity (a relatively rare/unlikely event given that most servicestations have only one air hose provide to pump air into customers'tires). Other locations for audible tire inflation indicator 145 arepossible on a vehicle such as a sound/tone generator located in eitherof, or both of, the driver-side and passenger-side exterior side viewmirror assemblies and/or in any of the door handle assemblies of thevehicle or in an engine compartment or in a trunk compartment or in aside door panel or in a wheel well or in a body panel of the vehicle.Note that in the context of the present invention, an audible tirepressure indicator comprises a sound device that generates a soundpattern audible to a person outside the vehicle while that person isundertaking a tire pressure adjustment of a tire on a wheel mounted onthe vehicle (such as with an air hose from a pressurized air pump suchas at a service station), and such that the audible sound indicatorencompasses generating an audible sound that indicates to the personadjusting the tire pressure that the tire pressure is at, below and/orabove a recommended level for that tire on that vehicle, and as known tothe vehicle tire pressure monitoring controller (typically stored in anelectronic storage element thereof) of the vehicle tire pressuremonitoring system. Note also that in the context of the presentinvention, a visible or visual tire pressure indicator comprises a lightemitting light source (such as a light emitting diode or an incandescentsource or a fluorescent source or an electroluminescent source) that,when powered, emits a light pattern visible to a person outside thevehicle while that person is undertaking a tire pressure adjustment of atire on a wheel mounted on the vehicle (such as with an air hose from apressurized air pump such as at a service station), and such that thevisual or visible tire pressure indicator encompasses generating a lightthat indicates to the person adjusting the tire pressure that the tirepressure is at, below and/or above a recommended level for that tire onthat vehicle, and as known to the vehicle tire pressure monitoringcontroller (typically stored in an electronic storage element thereof)of the vehicle tire pressure monitoring system. An audible tire pressureindicator device can be located anywhere in the vehicle such as in thevehicle interior cabin, in an engine compartment, in a trunkcompartment, in a body panel, or in a vehicular accessory (such as aninterior mirror assembly or an exterior mirror assembly or a door handleassembly or a console assembly), but is preferably located exterior tothe interior cabin of the vehicle (so as to be more readily audible to aperson outside the vehicle in the act of adjusting tire pressure). Avisible or visual tire pressure indicator device can be located in aninterior portion of the vehicle (such as at, on, within or adjacent aninterior mirror assembly or a header console assembly or a dome lightassembly) or at an exterior portion of the vehicle (such as at, withinor adjacent an exterior side view mirror assembly or a door handleassembly), but preferably at a location readily visible to a personoutside crouched at a wheel.

Also, in any of the above embodiments, a tire pressure sensor can belocated in a spare tire of the vehicle, and the spare tire pressure canbe adjusted aided by the audible and/or visible and/or tactile tirepressure inflation status indicators of the present invention.

Also, optionally, the tire pressure sensor located in each tire on thevehicle can include a solid-state vibrator or trembler (such as thevibration devices common on pagers and cell phones that provide avibration indication of receipt of a call or of a message, as known inthe art). Thus, when, for example, a tire pressure sensor at aparticular wheel senses that the tire pressure in that particular tireis at (or close to) the recommended or desired tire pressure, then theair inlet/outlet valve or stalk or valve stem to which an air hoseconnects is caused to vibrate, by (referring to FIG. 6) vibratorelements 124 a, 124 b, 124 c, 124 d (that are respectively associatedwith the tire pressure sensor/air inlet valve of the front wheel tiresand the rear wheel tires), and thus indicate to a person in the act of atire pressure adjust that the tire pressure is at (or close to at) thedesired tire pressure. Such trembler or vibrator can be configured onlyto operate when an actual tire pressure adjust event is occurring (suchas only being active when tire pressure is rapidly changing such asmight indicate (and be characteristic of) a tire pressure adjust eventoccurring, or when the nipple in the valve stem is depressed). Thus forexample, should an air hose be connected to the valve stem that allowsinflation/deflation of a tire on a wheel equipped with a tire sensor ofthis invention that includes a vibrator element, then, upon recognitionthat a tire adjust event is occurring (such as by detection ordepression of the tire inlet nipple and/or by detection of a rapid rateof change of air pressure), the tire pressure sensor determines whetherthe instantaneous tire pressure is above or below the desired,pre-determined tire pressure level recommended for that tire on thatvehicle, and upon detecting (for example) that tire pressure is higherthan desired, the tire pressure sensor causes its in-built vibrator tovibrate or tremble which in turn causes the valve stem to tremble. Sincethe person adjusting the tire pressure is holding the nozzle of an airhose to that tire valve stem, that person will feel these vibrations,and knowing from the vehicle owner's manual that “vibration” means that“tire pressure is too great”, is instructed by the tactile feel of thenozzle on the nipple to deflate the tires. Once the correct tirepressure is reached, the vibrations cease, and upon feeling that thevibrations have ceased, the person can cease deflating the tire. Ifhowever the valve stem is not trembling or vibrating when the personfirst initiates a tire pressure adjust, the person knows (again from thevehicle owner's manual) that this signifies that the tire isunder-inflated, and so the person is prompted to pump air in to inflatethe tire, but to cease once a vibration or tremble in the valve stem isfirst felt, as this signifies that the air pressure in the tire has nowreached the recommended pressure level. Different tactile codes can beenvisaged that are indicative of tire pressure level in a tire whilethat tire is being inflated or deflated using an air hose from an airpump at a service station. The advantages of a tactile tire pressureindicator as described herein include that a module comprising the tirepressure sensing transducer, a tire pressure processor (preferably amicroprocessor-based tire pressure monitor), a battery, associatedcircuitry, the inlet valve (including its stem and nipple), and thevibrator or tremble-generator can be provided as a sealed (preferred),unitary package that can be placed onto a wide variety of tire cavitieson wheels, and without the necessity and/or expense of providing awireless link to an in-cabin controller (although such is preferablewhen there is a desire to provide a vehicle tire pressure display to thedriver while the driver is driving). Further, a tactile tire pressureindicator such as described herein such as shown in FIG. 6 can be usedin conjunction with a tire pressure display system that senses states oftire inflation or deflation by monitoring a performance characteristicof an ABS braking system on the vehicle.

As described above, it is preferable that a display of tire pressurestatus be provided in the interior cabin of the vehicle (such asinterior cabin tire pressure status display 123 of system 116) so thatthe driver, when operating the vehicle such as when driving down thehighway, can check/be made aware of the tire pressure at any of thewheels on the vehicle. Note, and as described above, such interior cabintire pressure displays are intended for use while driving the vehicle ona highway, and are normally not intended for use when the vehicle isstopped and with its ignition turned off, and are not normally adaptedto be visible or useful to a person outside a vehicle and crouched downat a wheel in the act of making a tire pressure adjustment using an airhose as typically provided at a service station or the like. Asdescribed above, a preferred location for such an interior cabin tirepressure status display is at, on or within an interior mirror assemblyof the vehicle. Also, and as disclosed in U.S. provisional applicationSer. No. 60/243,986, filed Oct. 27, 2000, in U.S. provisionalapplication Ser. No. 60/238,483, filed Oct. 6, 2000, U.S. provisionalapplication Ser. No. 60/237,077, filed Sep. 30, 2000, U.S. provisionalapplication Ser. No. 60/234,412, filed Sep. 21, 2000, U.S. provisionalapplication Ser. No. 60/218,336, filed Jul. 14, 2000, and U.S.provisional application Ser. No. 60/186,520, filed Mar. 2, 2000, U.S.Pat. No. 6,124,647 and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/660,712,filed Sep. 13, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,291,906, the entire disclosuresof which are hereby incorporated by reference herein, an interiorcabin-located tire pressure status display can be displayed at a varietyof interior mirror assemblies, accessory modules mounted at, on, withinor adjacent to the interior mirror assembly, and display assembliesincluding flip/down, stowable video display assemblies (and preferablydisplay assemblies including flip/down, stowable video displayassemblies mounted at, on, within or adjacent to the interior mirrorassembly). In this regard, it is preferable that the vehicle tirepressure monitoring controller (such as controllers 16 and 116 of,respectively, FIGS. 5 and 6) be incorporated into such interior mirrorassemblies or such accessory modules or such flip-down video displayassemblies.

Thus, as referring to FIGS. 7 and 8 (and such as is disclosed in U.S.provisional application Ser. No. 60/243,986, filed Oct. 27, 2000, inU.S. provisional application Ser. No. 60/238,483, filed Oct. 6, 2000,the entire disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by referenceherein), an interior cabin tire pressure status display 7624 can beincluded in interior mirror assembly system 7600. Referring to theFIGS., rearview mirror support 7710 includes a vehicle informationdisplay 7624, 7724 of tire pressure status, similar to the unitaryinterior mirror support and information display assembly disclosed inU.S. Pat. No. 6,087,953, the entire disclosure of which is herebyincorporated by reference herein. Support 7710 further includes apivot/swivel joint 7731 that allows adjustment of the viewing positionof information display 7624, 7724 when support 7710 fixedly mounts to awindshield-mounted mirror attachment button as described in U.S. Pat.No. 6,087,953. As seen in FIG. 8, information display 7724 can displaytire pressure status and/or can display a variety of information (suchas the tire pressure display/compass directional heading/exteriortemperature display shown in display 7624 in FIG. 7) and such as isdescribed above in relation to the other embodiments of the presentinvention. Mirror housing 7612 b mounts to ball member 7718 to form apivot joint that allows adjustment of mirror housing 7612 b aboutsupport 7710. Note that the connection of mirror housing 7612 b tosupport 7710 can include a second pivot joint to allow “two-ball”adjustability of the mirror housing. Also, ball member 7718 canoptionally be replaced with a mirror assembly attachment member (such aswith the mirror button configuration as used on that particular vehicle)and then the interior mirror assembly can detachably and preferably,break-away attach to support assembly 7710. This allows removal of anexisting interior mirror assembly from the windshield button in avehicle, mounting of support assembly 7710 on that windshield-mountedbutton, and reattachment of the existing interior mirror assembly (oranother) onto support assembly 7710 via the mirror-mounting buttonprovided thereon. Note also that the various circuitry, antennae andtransmitters/receiver, including the vehicle tire pressure monitoringcontroller discussed above, can be included in housing 7714 ofadjustable support/accessory assembly 7710 such as vehicle tire pressuremonitoring controller 7723 (that preferably includes an RF receivingantenna, a microprocessor and all the circuitry, user inputcontrols/buttons and other controls needed to receive and processwireless signals broadcast from the various tire pressure sensorslocated in the tire on the wheels of the vehicle) of rearview mirrorsupport 7710 (or alternately, can be positioned in adjustable mirrorhousing 7612 b behind reflective element 7612 d). Further, housing 7612b or support/accessory assembly 7710 can include a telematic systemincluding a telematic system including floating car data can be includedin any of the assemblies of the present invention whereby the vehicletransmits its position to a central aggregator (such as in supportassembly 7710 or in mirror housing 7612 b). The central aggregator alsoreceives positional data from many other vehicles on that highway/inthat region. The central aggregator integrates the position, speed,direction etc. of all the vehicles inputting, as well as weather data,road repair data etc., traffic-flow data, road-condition data and thelike, and integrates these to report back to individual vehicles thebest possible route for that vehicle, taking all conditions includingtraffic, weather etc. into account. Also, telematic and/or cellularphone transmissions from the vehicle can be detected and analyzed usingwireless location technology (such as is available from Webraska) inorder to locate the position of a mobile device user in a vehicle on ahighway. Also, any of the telematic systems of the present invention caninclude a vehicle emergency messaging system.

Referring to FIG. 9, another embodiment 8300 of an accessorymodule/mirror system that includes a vehicle tire pressure monitoringcontroller 8323 (that preferably includes an RF receiving antenna, amicroprocessor and all the circuitry, user input controls/buttons andother controls needed to receive and process wireless signals broadcastfrom the various tire pressure sensors located in the tire on the wheelsof the vehicle) is illustrated. Accessory module/mirror system 8300includes an interior rearview mirror assembly 8310 and an accessorymodule 8312. Rearview mirror assembly 8310 can be a double-ball (asillustrated) or a single-ball mirror assembly, as such are known in therearview mirror art. Accessory module 8312 is adapted to releasablymounted to an interior vehicle, such as a windshield 8318 on a mirrormounting button 8320, and such as is disclosed in U.S. provisionalapplication Ser. No. 60/243,986, filed Oct. 27, 2000, in U.S.provisional Ser. No. 60/238,483, filed Oct. 6, 2000, the entiredisclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein.Modular 8312 includes a housing 8340 with an upper portion 8346, a lowerportion 8342, and a medial or central portion 8343. In the illustratedembodiment, lower portion 8342 comprises a fixed portion, which extendsbelow central portion 8343 and below support 8329 of interior rearviewmirror assembly 8310 but preferably forwardly of housing 8314 ofinterior rearview mirror assembly 8310. In this manner, lower portion8342 is essentially hidden or in an unobtrusive/unnoticeable position tominimize the distraction to the driver while optimizing the use of thespace below and behind the mirror housing 8314 of interior rearviewmirror assembly 8310, while minimizing interference with the driver'sforward field of view through the windshield. Lower portion 8342,similar to lower portion 8242, includes a plurality of user interfaceaccessories 8352 (including user interfaces to controller 8323), whichare positioned in such a manner to permit easy physical access to thevarious accessories mounted thereon or therein. For example, lowerportion 8342 may include a microphone 8366, a speaker 8368, and adigital message recorder and/or note taker 8370. In addition, accessorymodule 8312 also incorporates as interior cabin-located vehicle tirepressure monitoring controller 8323. The tire pressure monitoringcontroller 8323 preferably include a wireless receiver such as an RFreceiver that receives wireless communication from individual tirepressure sensors, such as piezo-electric transducers, located in theindividual tire valves and/or wells of the vehicle such as is describedin U.S. Pat. No. 5,741,966, the disclosure of which is hereinincorporated by reference in its entirety. Various other accessories mayalso be incorporated into module 8312. For further details of additionalor other accessories which may be incorporated, reference is made to theprevious embodiments and to the various patents and applicationsincorporated by reference herein. It should also be understood thatlower portion 8342 may optionally comprise an adjustable portion. Also,controller 8323 can be located in any portion of module. Accessorymodule 8312 includes an information display element 8324 (such as avacuum fluorescent display or a liquid crystal display or afield-emission display or an electroluminescent display or a lightemitting diode display, and preferably a multi-pixel display and morepreferable, a reconfigurable display) that displays an output ofcontroller 8323 and that conveys information to the driver as to thetire pressure status of one, some or all of the tires on the wheels ofthe vehicle. Note, and as disclosed in U.S. provisional application Ser.No. 60/243,986, filed Oct. 27, 2000, in U.S. provisional applicationSer. No. 60/238,483, filed Oct. 6, 2000, the entire disclosures of whichare hereby incorporated by reference herein, the provision of a module8312 such as shown in FIG. 9 that includes both controller 8323 anddisplay element 8324 of a tire pressure monitoring and/or tire pressuredisplay system is particularly advantageous as it includes mounting themodule onto a windshield-mounted rearview mirror attachment element orbutton 8320 (or alternately, a header-mounted rearview mirror attachmentelement or plate), and with the interior rearview mirror assembly 8310detachably and, preferably, break-away mounting to mirror assemblyattachment button or element 8321 that is part of module 8312. In thismanner, a tire pressure monitoring and/or tire pressure display systemcan be readily mounted into a vehicle by first detaching the existingrearview mirror assembly from its mount (typically a windshield-mountedbutton), next attaching module 8312 to that windshield-mounted button,and then re-attaching the rearview mirror assembly to themirror-mounting element or button (that is the same as on thewindshield) that is part of module 8312. The read-out/indication of tirepressure is readily viewable by the driver such as at display 8321. Notethat optionally, the viewing position of display 8321 is positionablesuch as by swivel or pivot joint 8346 a, or optionally display 8321 canbe canted or angled towards the driver to enhance viewability by thedriver of information displayed thereon. Also, optionally, display 8321can be positioned on module 8312 so as to be visible below the mirrorcase of the interior mirror assembly (as opposed to above as in FIG. 9).

Also, and as disclosed in U.S. provisional application Ser. No.60/243,986, filed Oct. 27, 2000, in U.S. provisional application Ser.No. 60/238,483, filed Oct. 6, 2000, the entire disclosures of which arehereby incorporated by reference herein, and referring to FIG. 10, anaccessory module/mirror system 7900 incorporating a controller 7923 fora tire pressure monitoring and/or tire pressure display system isillustrated. Accessory module/mirror system 7900 includes an interiorrearview mirror assembly 7910 and an accessory module 7912, whichincludes one or more viewable user interface accessories 7950 andoptionally one or more user interface accessories 7951 which areaccessible but positioned in a manner behind interior rearview mirror7910 so that they are not necessarily visible to the driver of thevehicle when the driver is in a normal sitting position, such as whendriving.

As best seen in FIGS. 12 and 13, interior rearview mirror assembly 7910includes a mirror casing or housing 7914 and a reflective element 7916(for example a prismatic or an electro-optic reflective element) and,further, a mirror housing support 7929, similar to the previousembodiments. Optionally and preferably, when reflective element 7916comprises a prismatic reflective element, interior rearview mirrorassembly 7910 includes a toggle for adjusting the position of thereflective element between its day and night viewing positions, such asdescribed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/533,127, filed Mar. 23,2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,318,870, which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety. In addition, though illustrated as a dualball mount support, housing support 7929 may include a fixed support armor may include a single ball mount arrangement.

Accessory module 7912 is adapted to mount to a vehicle and, preferably,adapted to releasably mount in the interior of the vehicle. In theillustrated embodiment, accessory module 7912 is adapted to releasablymount to windshield 7918 on a windshield mounting button 7920 and,preferably, includes a mirror mount 7944, such as a channel shapedmember, which provides a break-away mounting for module 7912 on button7920. It should be understood that module 7912 may also be mounted to aheader of the vehicle. Button 7920 may be of conventional design and ispreferably mounted to the inner surface of windshield 7918 by anadhesive. In addition, accessory module 7912 preferably includes amirror mounting button 7936 for releasably mounting interior rearviewmirror assembly 7910 to module 7912 and, in turn, to windshield 7918.Alternately, accessory module 7912 can mount adjacent to but separatefrom the attachment element of the interior mirror assembly (such asmounting to a separate windshield-mounted attachment element orheader-mounted attachment member, such as described above).

Mirror housing support 7929 preferably comprises a dual ball mountsupport with a support arm 7924 and a mirror mount 7926 with ball andsocket connections between support arm 7924 and mirror mount 7926 andbetween support arm 7924 and mirror casing 7914 to provide pivoting ofsupport arm 7924 about mirror mount 7926 and/or pivoting of housing 7914about support arm 7924. Mirror mount 7926 releasably engages mirrormounting button 7936 of accessory module 7912 and provides a break-awaymounting of interior rearview mirror assembly 7910 to module 7912.

Referring again to FIG. 10, accessory module 7912 includes a modulehousing 7940 with a lower portion 7942 (FIGS. 11-13) including mirrormount 7944 for releasably engaging mirror mounting button 7920. Mirrormount 7944 is provided by a channel shaped recess which is either formedin housing 7940 or provided by a channel shaped member mounted tohousing 7940. An opposed side of lower portion 7942 of body 7940 isprovided with mirror mounting button 7936 and, preferably, with mirrormounting button 7936 aligned with mirror mount 7944. In this manner,when interior rearview mirror assembly 7910 is mounted to mirrormounting button 7936 and module 7912 is mounted to button 7920, mirrormounting button 7920 and mirror mounting button 7936 are aligned along acommon axis.

An upper portion 7946 of body 7940 is positioned above housing 7914,including bezel 7948, and reflective element 7916 of interior rearviewmirror assembly 7910 and includes one or more of the viewable userinterface accessories 7950. Accessories 7950 may include, for example, adisplay 7952, user-actuatable controls/buttons 7954, and/or lights 7956.In the illustrated embodiment, accessories 7950 are positioned on arearwardly facing portion of upper portion 7946 and are preferablyaligned to provide a compact arrangement which offers a wealth ofinformation in a small space.

In addition, accessory module 7912 may house a variety of vehicleaccessories and controls in addition to tire pressure system controller7923. For example, a GPS navigational system, including a GPS antenna,may be included in housing 7940. Other accessories that may, forexample, be included in housing 7940 include a trainable garage dooropener, such as a Homelink® Video System registered trademark systemavailable from JCI of Holland, Mich., and/or may include a cellularphone system including a complete telecommunicationsystem/antenna/transceiver and/or telematic system including antenna andtransceiver and/or an automatic toll booth/remote transactiontransceiver system and/or a compass direction system, including acompass sensor, such as described above and/or any of the vehicleaccessories and functions described above. In addition, housing 7940 mayinclude a microphone system (preferably a multi-microphone arrayincluding a digital sound processing system, which may also be includingin housing 7940). Such a microphone system is suitable for use in voicecommand interactions, cellular phone interactions, hands-free phoneoperations, telematic communications, and the like. Furthermore,accessory module/mirror system 7900 may include a loud speaker, located,for example in housing 7940 or mirror casing 7914 (or, less preferably,elsewhere in the vehicle) that, for example, functions as a speaker foran audible tire pressure indicator device. Preferably, the loudspeakercomprises a solid-state, ceramic speaker element (such as apiezo-electric loudspeaker element). Such solid-state, ceramic speakersare provided in a thin configuration (less than 5 mm in thickness andoften less than 3 mm in thickness), and are available from such asPanasonic of Tokyo, Japan. These solid-state loudspeakers areparticularly adaptable to mounting in a compact space (such as withinthe various housings of the present invention) and/or mounting onto aPCB. Preferably, module 7912 also includes a carrier member 7958positioned in housing 7940, for example, in lower portion 7942, forsupporting one or more of the vehicle accessories and controls,including supporting circuitry for the various user interfaceaccessories.

User interface accessories 7950, such as user-actuatable buttons 7954,may be used to actuate or interface with one or more of the varioussystems (including a tire pressure monitoring system and/or a tirepressure display system, such as described above and in the patents andapplications incorporated by reference herein, which may be incorporatedinto accessory module/mirror system 7900. For example, buttons 7954 maybe used to actuate such vehicle functions as the opening of a trunk orhood of the vehicle, emergency light flashers, a road side assistancesystem, such as an ONSTAR® system, selection of display of tire pressureof a particular wheel, entering a “learning/training” state for a tirepressure system or the like. Display 7952 can function as a displayscreen for a tire pressure system and optionally for other systems aswell such as a GPS system, telematic system, a remote transactionsystem, or the like, which may or may not be incorporated into module7912. However, it is preferable that module 7912 provide aself-contained unitary module which houses complete or sub-systems, suchas the components (such as an antenna, user-input controls,microprocessor, electronic memory, and associated circuitry) of a tirepressure monitoring/tire pressure display system (other than thosecomponents that are located outside the interior cabin, such as in thewheels or as part of an exterior mirror assembly) and may additionallyhouse other systems or sub-systems such as a GPS system comprising a GPSantenna, GPS circuitry, and a display screen displaying the GPSinformation. In this manner, module 7912 is especially suitable as anafter-market product. However, optionally, module 7912 can be installedwhen the vehicle is being produced at the OEM automaker. Alternately orin addition, display 7952 can function as a display for a portablecomputer device, portable cellular phone, and/or a portable personaldigital assistance device, such as a PalmPilot® or other personaldigital assistant devices. In addition, display 7952 may serve multiplepurposes, such as a video screen for an onboard vehicular camera and/ora video monitor screen for a portable computing/PDA/cellularphone/communication device. For example, a removable telecommunicationand/or computing accessory, as previously described, can be removablydocked into a docking station of accessory module 7912. In addition,optionally, display 7952 may be removably mounted in accessory module7912 so that display 7952 may be detached and used remote from thevehicle such as part of a portable video device, portable computermonitor, portable PDA, or a portable navigation device.

Display 7952 may include a display element 7952 a (FIG. 10), such as avacuum fluorescent display, an LED display, a field emission display, anelectroluminescent display, or a liquid crystal display and optionallymay comprise a multi pixel display capable of being reconfigured andcapable of displaying scrolling text including alphanumeric text invarious fonts and languages. In this manner, display 7952 may be used todisplay text messaging. For example, display element 7952 a may display,in response to a GPS system, for example the name of the next street orjunction or highway or entrance or exit ramp being approached by thevehicle equipped with accessory module/mirror system 7900, or displayelement 7952 a may display the tire pressure in a particular wheel tirein response to an interrogation by the driver or in response to the tirepressure display system detecting that a particular tire's tire pressurehas fallen below, or is above, a recommended tire pressure level that isstored in controller 7923.

Light or lights 7956 may form part of an interior camera surveillancesystem, and preferably comprise low-level non-incandescent lightsources, such as light emitting diodes, organic light emitting diodes,electroluminescent sources (inorganic and organic), or the like. Otherfeatures that may be incorporated into accessory module/mirror system7900 and, preferably into accessory module 7912, include aninclinometer, such as an accelerometer-based inclinometer or a liquidbased inclinometer. Such an inclinometer may serve as a sensor to detectvehicle inclination and may be coupled to a system such as acomprehensive anti-rollover system, which is especially desirable invehicles with high centers of gravity (such as sports utility vehicles).

In preferred form, upper portion 7946 of housing 7940 includes anadjustable portion such as telescoping portion 7960 on which userinterface accessories 7950 are mounted. In this manner, an occupant ofthe vehicle may adjust the position of the user interface accessories tosuit their needs. In order to accommodate the repositioning of userinterface accessories 7950, accessories 7950 are connected to carrier7958 by extendable cable or wiring 7962. In addition, generallynon-viewable user interface accessories 7951, such as phone jacks, powersockets, or card readers, or the like may be positioned behind mirrorcase 7914 on housing 7940. Since these accessories do not require visualinterface, unlike the video display buttons, or the like, they may beadvantageously positioned in non-viewable and otherwise unused spacethough these accessories may be viewed if the interior rearview mirrorassembly is removed or the user shifts their position to, for example, abent position.

Referring again to FIG. 12, in preferred form, upper portion 7946 ofhousing 7940 is spaced above casing 7914 of interior rearview mirrorassembly 7910 to permit an occupant of the vehicle to grasp housing 7914to adjust the position of reflective element 7916 without hindrance fromupper portion 7946 of housing 7940. In addition, movable portion 7960 ofhousing 7940 may optionally be provided with a sliding/swivel adjustmentso that, in addition to moving the user interface accessory 7950 towardor away from the user, user interface accessory 7950 may be tilted oradjusted downwardly or upwardly as desired.

In the illustrated embodiment, housing 7940 provides the various useractuatable or user visible accessories and/or displays at its upperportion. In this manner, the user interface accessories, such as useractuatable buttons 7954 and display 7952 and lights 7956 are positionedabove bezel 7948 and reflective element 7916, as previously noted,causing minimal distraction to the driver and, further, withouthampering the driver's forward field of view. Alternately, accessorymodule 7912 may include a housing with an enlarged lower portion whichextends and projects below bezel 7948 and reflective element 7916 or mayinclude both upper and lower portions which provide and positionaccessories both above and below housing 7914, as will be more fullydescribed in reference to FIGS. 12 and 13. Preferably, the lower portionof module 7912 is substantially located or nested behind the lowerportion of the adjustable mirror housing (such as casing 7914 of mirrorassembly 7910) of the interior mirror assembly so as to be essentiallynot visible/noticeable and thus unobtrusive to the driver during thedriver's normal driving task, and such as not to significantly intrudeinto the driver's forward field of vision through the windshield.

It can be appreciated from the foregoing description, that accessorymodule 7912 provides a suitable after-market product which can be simplyinstalled on an existing mirror mounting button, already provided by thevehicle manufacturer, with the interior rearview mirror assembly mounteddirectly onto the accessory module. Furthermore, accessory module 7912may be removed for repair, replacement, or upgrade as needed or asdesired. It should be noted that accessory module is separate anddistinct from interior mirror assembly 7910, and for example, optionallycan be manufactured and sold independent of the interior mirrorassembly, and by a different manufacturer. Also, optionally, accessorymodule 7912 (as with other accessory modules of the present invention)can attach to the windshield (or header region) at an attachment elementdifferent than that of the interior mirror assembly.

Referring to FIG. 14, the numeral 8012 generally designates anotherembodiment of the accessory module that includes components of a tirepressure monitoring system and/or tire pressure display system.Accessory module 8012 includes a housing 8040, similar to the previousembodiment, and illustrates an alternate arrangement for viewable userinterface accessories 8050. User interface accessories 8050 arepositioned similar to user interface accessories 7950 above bezel 7948and reflective element 7916 of interior rearview mirror assembly 7910.In the illustrated embodiment, user interface accessories 8050 include adisplay 8052 which is positioned closer to the left hand side of module8012 to be positioned for closer viewing to the driver of the vehicle(in the case of a vehicle that drives on the right hand side of theroad) and a plurality of buttons 8054 which are grouped together on theright hand side of accessory module 8012 (as viewed in FIG. 14). Similarto the previous embodiment, user interface accessories 8050 include apair of lights 8056 which are positioned on opposed ends of upperportion housing 8040 to provide lighting to both sides of the vehicleinterior.

It should be understood, that the selection and arrangement of userinterface accessories 7950, 8050 may be modified to suit the needs ofthe vehicle manufacturer or the customer. In addition, because accessorymodules 7912 and 8012 comprise separate unitary modules, modules 7912and 8012 are particularly suitable in an after-market installation orfor being produced at the OEM automaker. In addition, modules 7912, 8012may be provided in a variety of models including economy, mid-range, anddeluxe models, for example.

Referring to FIG. 15, another embodiment of the accessory module/mirrorsystem 8100 is illustrated that includes components of a tire pressuremonitoring system and/or tire pressure display system. Accessorymodule/mirror system 8100 includes an interior rearview mirror assembly8110 and an accessory module 8112. Interior rearview mirror assembly8110 may be similar to any one of the previous embodiments and,therefore, reference is made therein for further details. Similar to theprevious embodiments, accessory module 8112 mounts to the vehicle and,preferably, to windshield 8118 on a mirror mounting button 8120, whichis provided on the windshield typically by the vehicle manufacturer.Accessory module 8112 includes a housing 8140 with a lower portion 8142including a channel or mirror mount (similar to mirror mount 7944) onone side of housing 8140, for releasably mounting module 8112 to button8120, and a mirror mounting button 8136 on its opposed side forreleasably mounting interior rearview mirror assembly 8110 to mirrormount 8112 using a break-away connection, which in turn is releasablymounted to windshield 8118 using a break-away connection on button 8120.As noted in reference to the previous embodiment, mirror mounting button8136 may be formed on housing 8140 or may be secured thereto usingconventional means, such as fasteners, an adhesive, or the like.

Upper portion 8146 of housing 8140 preferably comprises a telescopingportion which permits adjustment or repositioning of the viewable userinterface accessories 8150, which are mounted in housing 8140. Userinterface accessories 8150 may include for example a display 8152, aplurality of user actuatable buttons 8154, and a microphone and/orspeaker 8156. As described in reference to the previous embodiment,accessory module 8112 may incorporate a plurality of different systemsincluding user interface systems, such as a GPS system, a roadsideassistance system, a telematic system, a remote transaction system orthe like. Display 8152, therefore, may display information relating to atire pressure monitoring system and/or tire pressure display system aswell as, optionally, information relating to other systems such as a GPSsystem, telematic system, remote transaction interaction system, and/orroadside assistance system, for example using text messaging or thelike. Furthermore, buttons 8154 may be used to actuate or communicatewith any of the various systems. For example, one button may be used toactivate a roadside assistance system, such as an ONSTAR® system. Inaddition, buttons 8154 may be used to activate vehicle systems, such asa hood or trunk latch, to turn on an interior light, or the like.

Similar to the previous embodiments, accessory module 8112 is especiallysuitable as an after-market product which can be mounted to aconventional mirror mounting button which is provided by the vehiclemanufacturer. Other accessories which may be included in accessorymodule 8112 include antennas, including antennas for a tire pressuremonitoring system and/or tire pressure display system, garage dooropeners, keyless entry systems, radio receiver, microwave receivers,remote transaction transceivers, toll payment transceivers, cellularphone systems, telematic systems, or the like. In addition, accessorymodule 8112 may incorporate one or more image capturing devices, such asa CCD camera or a CMOS camera, for use, for example, as a video phonecamera or a seat occupancy camera, or a vehicle interior surveillancecamera, or the like, or may incorporate a compass direction sensor (suchas described above) or a rain sensor/fog sensor/fogging sensor (such asdescribed above). In addition, display 8152 may display images collectedfrom the image capturing device and/or information from any of theaccessories in accessory module 8112 (and/or from accessories locatedelsewhere in the vehicle such as at, on or within the interior mirrorassembly and/or an exterior mirror assembly).

Referring again to FIG. 15, accessory module 8112 further optionallyincludes a vehicle power socket 8160 connected to the vehicle ignitionsystem or a battery electrical system, such as a cigarette lighter typesocket (conventional in many automobiles) into which accessories can beplugged. In the illustrated embodiment, socket 8160 is located on therearward facing side 8140 a (when module 8112 is mounted to mountingbutton 8120) and preferably behind interior rearview mirror casing 8114.In this manner, socket 8160 is located in a portion of module 8112hidden by interior rearview mirror assembly 8114 and, yet, is accessibleto an occupant of the vehicle. Alternately, module 8112 can be wired tothe vehicle electrical system and/or be solar-powered via solar panels.In preferred form, user interface accessories which require visualinteraction or recognition are preferably located in the visibleportions of module 8112, such as upper portion 8146 of housing 8140,which is above interior rearview mirror casing 8114.

Referring to FIG. 16, another embodiment 8200 of an accessorymodule/mirror system that includes components of a tire pressuremonitoring system and/or tire pressure display system is illustrated.Accessory module/mirror system 8200 includes an interior rearview mirrorassembly 8210 and an accessory module 8212. For further details ofinterior rearview mirror assembly 8210, reference is made to theprevious embodiments. Accessory module 8212 is adapted to releasablymount to an interior of a vehicle, such as to a windshield 8218, on amirror mounting button 8220. In addition, accessory module 8212 includesa mirror mounting button 8236 on which interior rearview mirror assembly8210 may be releasably mounted to accessory module 8212 and in turnwindshield 8218. Similar to the previous embodiments, preferably mirrormounting buttons 8220 and 8236 are aligned along a common axis toprovide a serial mounting of interior rearview mirror assembly 8210 andaccessory module 8212 (although other mounting configurations arepossible including a parallel mounting on a common attachment adapterelement, or separate mounting, as described above). Alternately, otherattachment elements can be used, such as described above.

In the illustrated embodiment, accessory module 8212 includes a housing8240 with a generally C-shaped cross-section to form an upper portion8246, for positioning above casing 8214 of interior rearview mirrorassembly 8210, and a lower portion 8242 for positioning below housing8214 of interior rearview mirror assembly 8210. In addition, housing8240 includes a central portion 8243, which includes a mounting member8244 for releasably engaging mirror mounting button 8220 and, further,includes mirror mounting button 8236. As previously described above,mirror mounting button 8236 is preferably aligned with mirror mount 8244and, thus, is provided on central portion 8243 of housing 8240 on anopposed side or rearward facing side of accessory module 8212.

In the illustrated embodiment, upper portion 8246 is adapted to beadjustable, by an adjustable element such as by a pivot, tilt, swivel,or nesting connection 8242 a or a combination thereof, so that theviewable user interface accessories 8250 are visually and/or physicallyaccessible to an occupant of the vehicle and, further, are adjustable tomeet the occupant's needs. For examples of optional user interfaceaccessories, reference is made to the previous embodiments.

Lower portion 8242 is optionally similarly adapted to be adjustable,such as by a pivot, tilt, swivel, or nesting connection 8242 a, so thatthe various user interface accessories 8252 supported thereon or thereinmay be repositioned along with lower portion 8242 of housing 8240. Inthe illustrated embodiment, lower portion 8242 protrudes rearwardly fromcentral portion 8243 such that accessories 8252 are positionable belowhousing 8214 of interior rearview mirror assembly 8210 or slightlyrearward of bezel 8248 and reflective element 8216 as desired.

Module 8212, similar to the previous embodiment, may include a pluralityof systems and accessories as previously described, such as an antenna8262, an image capturing device 8264, a microphone 8266, and/or aspeaker 8268. Accessory module 8212 may include other or furtheraccessories, including, for example a message recorder or digital notetaker 8270, whereby voice recordings, such as telephone numbers, notes,dictation, preferably short dictations, can be recorded for easy replayby an occupant of the vehicle. In addition, digital message recorder ordigital note taker 8270 may be used in conjunction with microphones(such as 8266) or speakers (such as 8268) located in module 8212 orelsewhere in the vehicle. In addition, recorder and/or note taker 8270may be used as an answering machine for use with a digital phone, whichis either incorporated into module 8212, interior rearview mirrorassembly 8210, or elsewhere in the vehicle. Thus, digital messagerecorder and/or note taker 8270 can play back the message or notes asthe occupant of the vehicle so chooses or as controlled by a setting inthe digital message recorder or not taker. In addition, digital messagerecorder or digital note taker 8270 may be adapted to communicate with adockable cellular phone, such as described in U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 09/449,121, filed Nov. 24, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,428,172,and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/585,379, filed Jun. 1, 2000,which are herein incorporated in their entireties by reference herein.Alternately, digital message recorder or digital note taker 8270 (or anyother accessory in module 8212) may communicate with (and/or serve as amessage recorder for) a phone remote from module 8212 or interiorrearview mirror assembly 8210, such as a phone in a pocket of a vehicleoccupant, a bag, or a compartment, so that messages may be downloadedfrom the remote cellular phone to the digital message recorder ordigital note taker using, for example, a short range communicationprotocol, such as BLUETOOTH, as previously described. In this manner,the occupant of the vehicle may choose to screen incoming calls on theirphone.

Also, as an alternate to having an accessory module (such as describedabove and herein) that attaches to or adjacent to a windshield-mounted(or header-mounted) interior mirror assembly, an accessory module can beincorporated as a portion of a header console or header/headlinerportion of the vehicle such that the accessory module (that can housethe accessories including displays, antennae and controllers such asdisclosed herein) can be an extension of the header that extends downfrom the header to the region, for example, where an interior mirrorassembly typically attaches to a windshield. Thus, and as illustrated inFIG. 16A, an accessory module/mirror system 8400 of the presentinvention includes an interior rearview mirror assembly 8410 and aheader console 8412, which mounts to the headliner H of a roof portionof a vehicle. As will be more fully described below header console 8412includes an extension 8413 which extends down from headliner H along theinner surface of windshield W of the vehicle and extends behind mirrorassembly 8410 to provide ample space and mounting surfaces for one ormore vehicle accessories, such as described above. Header console 8412is particularly suitable for mounting vehicle systems, such as the tirepressure monitoring system described above, user actuatable devices,such as user actuatable buttons, displays, such as video displays, sothat the user actuatable devices and displays are at a locationaccessible or viewable by one or more occupants of the vehicle.

As shown in FIG. 16A, a lower portion 8413 a of extension 8413 of headerconsole 8412, which extends downwardly behind the upper portion ofwindshield W (such portion of windshield W which typically includes ashadeband element as known in the art), includes a mirror mountingbutton 8436 on which mirror assembly 8410 detachably attaches to headerconsole 8412. Optionally, the downwardly extending portion ofheader/header console 8412 may be mounted to the inner surface ofwindshield W, such as by an adhesive or may be releasably, mechanicallyattached such as by being received by and/or supported by one or moreattaching members adhered to the inner surface of the windshield, suchas by attachment members, including rails, channels, or the like. Or,the downwardly extending portion of header/header console 8412 may bespaced or set-off from the inner surface. Or, the downwardly extendingportion of header/header console 8412 may contact or rest on innersurface of the windshield.

Desirably, wiring and/or cables which supply power and/or signals tocomponents in interior rearview mirror assembly 8410, includingcomponents in casing 8414, such as reflective element 8416, may becarried by header console 8412 and may pass through extension 8413 sothat the wires and/or cables are protected from damage and further arehidden from view for aesthetic reasons.

In the illustrated embodiment, interior rearview mirror 8410 includes acasing 8414, a reflective element 8416 which is supported in casing8414, and a support 8430. Reflective element 8416 preferably comprises avariable reflectance reflective element, such as a prismatic or anelectrochromic (EC) reflective element. Support 8430 comprises adual-ball mount type support of the type described in reference to theprevious embodiments, which provides for multi-axis repositioning ofcasing 8414 and, therefore, reflective element 8416 or may comprise asingle-ball support, as such are known in the rearview mirror art.Support 8430 includes a channel shaped mirror mount 8440 for releasablyengaging mounting button 8436 to form a break-away connection betweenmirror assembly 8410 and header console 8412.

As noted above, header console 8412 may support a plurality of vehicleaccessories, including for example an antenna 8422, including a globalpositioning system (GPS) antenna; a rain sensor, including a contactingand a non-contacting rain sensor; one or more cameras; lights;components of or an entire electronic toll collection (ETC) assembly;loud speakers and/or microphones, including for example a microphonearray, such as for a sound system (such as disclosed in co-assigned U.S.patent application Ser. No. 09/466,010, filed Dec. 17, 1999, now U.S.Pat. No. 6,420,975; Ser. No. 09/396,179, filed Sep. 14, 1999, now U.S.Pat. No. 6,278,377; Ser. No. 09/382,720, filed Aug. 25, 1999, now U.S.Pat. No. 6,243,003; Ser. No. 09/449,121, filed Nov. 24, 1999, now U.S.Pat. No. 6,428,172; Ser. No. 09/433,467, filed Nov. 4, 1999, now U.S.Pat. No. 6,326,613; and Ser. No. 09/448,700, filed Nov. 24, 1999, nowU.S. Pat. No. 6,329,925, the entire disclosures of all of which arehereby incorporated by reference herein); components of or an entirecellular phone system; components of or an entire telematic system,including a transceiver, an antenna, one or more user actuatabledevices, such as user actuatable buttons; pull down or flip displays,including video displays, such as described and reference previously;universal garage door opener systems, such as HOMELINK; digital soundprocessing systems; a trip computer, seat occupancy detector; air bagactuation status display; sensors for compass headings or temperature; avehicle tire pressure monitoring controller 8423 (that preferablyincludes an RF receiving antenna, a microprocessor and all thecircuitry, user input controls/buttons and other controls needed toreceive and process wireless signals broadcast from the various tirepressure sensors located in the tire on the wheels of the vehicle), adisplay element 8445 for display information relating to, for examplethe tire pressure monitoring system, other vehicle status, includingcoolant temperature, fuel levels, or the like, and/or externalenvironmental status or information, such as outside temperature,compass headings or the like. In addition, accessory module/mirrorsystem 8400 may include a second display element 8446 for displayingother information, such as email messages, or for displaying images suchas images relating to interior surveillance systems, rearvision aidsystems, or teleconferencing images or the like.

As best seen in FIG. 16A, displays 8445 and 8446 are positioned aboveand forwardly of mirror casing 8414 whereby the displays do notinterfere with or distract the driver and yet are accessible for easyviewing and are accessible for touching in the case of touch activateddisplay screens. Optionally, at least one of the displays screens ispositioned high enough within the vehicle cabin so that the images, suchas tire pressure indicators, may be viewable from outside the vehicle,including at the rear of the vehicle so that a person inflating a reartire could view the indications provided by the tire pressureindicators. In addition, display element 8445 may be provided in aseparate housing or module 8447 which can be removed for replacement,repair or upgrade.

In this manner, accessory module/mirror system 8400 can be removed as anassembly for repair, replacement, or upgrade with features removed oradded to either the mirror assembly 8410 or header console 8412 tothereby customize the accessory module/mirror system 8400 to suit theparticular needs of the vehicle customer. Furthermore, by extending theheader console downwardly and forward of the mirror assembly,significantly increased storage spaced is realized at the mirrormounting location but outside of casing 8414.

Referring to FIG. 16B, another embodiment 8500 of an accessorymodule/mirror system of the present invention is illustrated. Accessorymodule/mirror system 8500 includes an interior rearview mirror assembly8510 and a header console 8512, which mounts to the headliner H of aroof portion of a vehicle, similar to the previous embodiment.

As will be more fully described below header console 8512 includes anextension 8513 which extends down from headliner H along the innersurface of windshield W of the vehicle and extends behind mirrorassembly 8510 to provide ample space and mounting surfaces for one ormore vehicle accessories, such as described in reference to the previousembodiments and the referenced applications. Header console 8512 isparticularly suitable for mounting vehicle systems, such as the tirepressure monitoring system described above, user actuatable devices,such as user actuatable buttons, displays, such as video displays, sothat the user actuatable devices and displays are at a locationaccessible or viewable by one or more occupants of the vehicle similarto the previous embodiment.

As best understood from FIG. 16B, extension 8513 of header console 8512extends downwardly behind the upper portion of windshield W (suchportion of windshield W which typically includes a shadeband element asknown in the art) and includes a forked portion 8513 a, such as aninverted V-shaped or U-shaped portion, which straddles a mirror mountingbutton 8536 that is mounted to windshield W. Optionally, the downwardlyextending portion of header/header console 8512 may be mounted to theinner surface of windshield W, such as by an adhesive or may bereleasably, mechanically attached such as by being received by and/orsupported by one or more attaching members adhered to the inner surfaceof the windshield, such as by attachment members, including rails,channels, or the like. Or, the downwardly extending portion ofheader/header console 8512 may be spaced or set-off from the innersurface. Or, the downwardly extending portion of header/header console8512 may contact or rest on inner surface of the windshield. Similarly,wiring and/or cables which supply power and/or signals to components ininterior rearview mirror assembly 8510 may pass through extension 8513so that the wires and/or cables are protected from damage and furtherare hidden from view for aesthetic reasons.

Mirror mounting button 8536 provides a mount for mirror assembly 8510,which detachably attaches to mounting button 8536 by a channel shapedmirror mount 8540. In the illustrated embodiment, interior rearviewmirror 8510 includes a casing 8514, a reflective element 8516 which issupported in casing 8514, and a support 8530. Reflective element 8516preferably comprises a variable reflectance reflective element, such asa prismatic or an electrochromic (EC) reflective element. Support 8530comprises a dual-ball mount type support of the type described inreference to the previous embodiments, which provides for multi-axisrepositioning of casing 8514 and, therefore, reflective element 8516 ormay comprise a single-ball support, as such are known in the rearviewmirror art. Support 8530 includes mirror mount 8540 for releasablyengaging mounting button 8536 to thereby form a break-away connectionbetween mirror assembly 8510 and windshield W.

As noted above, header console 8512 may support a plurality of vehicleaccessories, including for example an antenna 8522, including a globalpositioning system (GPS) antenna; a rain sensor, including a contactingand a non-contacting rain sensor; one or more cameras; lights;components of or an entire electronic toll collection (ETC) assembly;loud speakers and/or microphones, including for example a microphonearray, such as for a sound system (such as disclosed in co-assigned U.S.Pat. applications: Ser. No. 09/466,010, filed Dec. 17, 1999, now U.S.Pat. No. 6,326,613; Ser. No. 09/396,179, filed Sep. 14, 1999, now U.S.Pat. No. 6,278,377; Ser. No. 09/382,720, filed Aug. 25, 1999, now U.S.Pat. No. 6,243,003; Ser. No. 09/449,121, filed Nov. 24, 1999, now U.S.Pat. No. 6,428,172; Ser. No. 09/433,467, filed Nov. 4, 1999, now U.S.Pat. No. 6,326,613; and Ser. No. 09/448,700, filed Nov. 24, 1999, nowU.S. Pat. No. 6,329,925, the entire disclosures of all of which arehereby incorporated by reference herein); components of or an entirecellular phone system; components of or an entire telematic system,including a transceiver, an antenna, one or more user actuatabledevices, such as user actuatable buttons; pull down or flip displays,including video displays, such as described and reference previously;universal garage door opener systems, such as HOMELINK; digital soundprocessing systems; a trip computer, seat occupancy detector; air bagactuation status display; sensors for compass headings or temperature; avehicle tire pressure monitoring controller 8523 (that preferablyincludes an RF receiving antenna, a microprocessor and all thecircuitry, user input controls/buttons and other controls needed toreceive and process wireless signals broadcast from the various tirepressure sensors located in the tire on the wheels of the vehicle), adisplay element 8545 for display information relating to, for examplethe tire pressure monitoring system, other vehicle status, includingcoolant temperature, fuel levels, or the like, and externalenvironmental status or information, such as outside temperature,compass headings or for displaying other information, such as emailmessages, or for displaying images such as images relating to interiorsurveillance systems, rearvision aid systems, or teleconferencing imagesor the like.

As best seen in FIG. 16B, display 8545 is positioned above and forwardlyof mirror casing 8514 whereby display 8545 does not interfere with ordistract the driver and yet is accessible for easy viewing and, further,is optionally accessible for touching in the case of a touch activateddisplay screen. In addition, display element 8545 optionally ispositioned high enough within the vehicle cabin so that the images, suchas tire pressure indicators, may be viewable from outside the vehicle,including at the rear of the vehicle so that a person inflating a reartire could view the indications provided by the tire pressureindicators.

As noted in reference to the previous embodiment, by extending theheader console downwardly and forward of the mirror assembly,significantly increased storage spaced is realized at the mirrormounting location but outside of casing 8514. In a similar manner, themirror assembly 8510 and/or header console 8512 may be removed forupgrade or replacement of components within either the mirror assemblyor the console to thereby customize the accessory module/mirror system8500 to suit the particular needs of the vehicle customer.

It can be appreciated that the mirror assemblies of the previousembodiments either connect to or through the header console. Optionally,one or more electrical/electronic devices or functions housed orprovided in the interior rearview mirror assemblies may communicatewith, such as by wireless communication, including RF communication, orelectrically couple, such as by wires and/or cables, to controlcircuitry either wholly or partially housed in the header console. Forexample, the interior rearview mirror assemblies may include a sensor,such as a photo sensor, which communicates with or electrically couplesto sensor circuitry located at least partially in the respective headerconsole. For an example of a suitable communication system that may beincorporated in the present invention reference is made to U.S. Pat. No.6,099,131, which is commonly assigned to Donnelly Corporation ofHolland, Mich., which is incorporated by reference in its entiretyherein.

FIG. 17 shows a video mirror system 6100 comprising an interior mirrorassembly 6135 that is attached by mirror mount 6120 to vehiclewindshield 6110. Video mirror system 6100 includes a controller 6123(preferably including an antenna, a microprocessor, user input controls,electronic memory and allied circuitry) that is a component of a tirepressure monitoring system and/or a tire pressure display system. Pod6190 removably attaches to mirror mount 6120 via pod attachment element6193. Pod 6190 includes a video controller board 6194 and a videodisplay driver board 6192. Pod 6190 connect to video display housing6170 via cable 6196 which carries video and electronic signals to thevideo screen housed in video display housing 6170. Video displayattachment element 6160 removably attaches to ball joint 6150 of mirrorsupport arm 6130. Video display housing is movable about joint 6162 tomove in the direction indicated by arrow 6171 to stow under mirrorassembly 6135 when view of the screen in video display housing 6170 isnot desired. Video display housing is also movable about joint 6162 tomove in the direction indicated by arrow 6173 to allow rotation of videodisplay housing 6170 in order to adjust the viewing angle of the videoscreen in housing 6170. Buttons 6180 allow user-access to the controlfunctions and features of the video mirror system 6100. By placing theelectronic boards in pod 6190, weight in housing 6170 is beneficiallydecreased, leading to reduced effect on mirror reflective element imagevibration.

FIG. 18 shows a video mirror system 6200 (that includes a controller6223 (preferably including an antenna, a microprocessor, user inputcontrols, electronic memory and allied circuitry) that is a component ofa tire pressure monitoring system and/or a tire pressure display system)including a video display housing 6270 that is attached via pivot joint6262 to video pod 6290 that in turn attaches (removably) via videoattachment element 6293 to the lower ball-joint of mirror support arm6230 of interior mirror assembly 6235. As shown by arrow 6271, videodisplay housing 6270 can move about pivot joint 6262 to stow below videopod 6290 (as in 6270′). Video pod 6290 contains various electronicboards 6291, 6292, that can include a variety of electronic features andaccessories, as described above. Buttons 6280 allow user-access to thecontrol functions and features of the video mirror system 6200.

FIG. 19 shows a video mirror system 6300 and a video display assembly6370 (that includes a controller (preferably including an antenna, amicroprocessor, user input controls, electronic memory and alliedcircuitry) that is a component of a tire pressure monitoring systemand/or a tire pressure display system) that includes a video screen 6372in video display housing 6374 and user-access controls 6380. Videodisplay housing 6374 rotates and articulates about video housing supportarm 6390. When not desired for viewing, video display housing 6374 canmove to stow to the rear and below bezel 6338 of interior rearviewmirror assembly 6335.

FIGS. 20A, 20B, 21A, 21B, 22A, and 22B show various views of a videomirror system that includes a controller (preferably including anantenna, a microprocessor, user input controls, electronic memory andallied circuitry) that is a component of a tire pressure monitoringsystem and/or a tire pressure display system. As best seen in FIG. 20B,a detachable video display attachment mount is provided that snaps ontothe lower ball-joint/mirror mount of the interior mirror assembly (asbest seen in FIG. 20A). An example of a suitable video attachment mountcan be found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,576,687, the entire disclosure of whichis hereby incorporated by reference herein. A preferred attachment mountto attach the video display assembly to the interior mirror assemblyincludes a coupler for engaging the mirror mount that supports theinterior mirror assembly on a windshield mirror button. The coupler ofthe mount of the video display assembly includes a tab at one end forcatching the interior mirror mount and a clip at another end to engage aportion of the interior mirror assembly. The coupler of the videodisplay assembly also preferably includes a shafted fastener received inthe interior mirror mount and/or a sliding fastener engaging acooperating element of the mirror mount and/or a shafted fastenerreceived in the mirror mount. Preferably, the coupler of the videodisplay assembly includes an attachment member for snapping onto theinterior mirror assembly (preferably at the interior mirror mount). Ascan best be seen in FIGS. 21A and 21B, the video display housing canrotate about a T-joint to stow generally horizontally behind theinterior mirror housing when video screen viewing is not desired (FIG.21A), but can flip down to a generally vertical plane when desired to beviewed (see FIG. 21B). Also, as seen in FIGS. 22A and 22B, the videodisplay housing can rotate about its attachment joint to allow theviewing angle of the video screen to be positioned to suit the user'sneeds.

Use of a flip-down display assembly (and preferably a flip down orstowable video display assembly) to house a component of a tire pressuremonitoring system and/or a tire pressure display system (such as itscontroller including antenna, microprocessor, user-input controls,electronic memory and allied circuitry) or to display an informationoutput of a tire pressure monitoring system and/or a tire pressuredisplay system has several advantages. For example, use of a videodisplay facilitates a detailed and consumer-friendly display of all fourtire pressures simultaneously on a video representation of the vehicle.Also, the video display of, for example, a flip-down video displayassembly (that attaches to, for example, the mount of an interior mirrorassembly; an example of a suitable video display assembly attachmentmount can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,576,687, the entire disclosure ofwhich is hereby incorporated by reference herein; and a preferredattachment mount to attach the video display assembly to the interiormirror assembly includes a coupler for engaging the mirror mount thatsupports the interior mirror assembly on a windshield mirror button oran assembly that attaches local to or at the attachment point in thevehicle where the interior mirror attaches (such as is described in U.S.Pat. No. 4,930,742, the entire disclosure of which is herebyincorporated by reference herein) can, for example, display the outputof an interior-cabin monitoring camera, such as a baby-view camera, orof an external viewing camera, such as a forward viewing camera orrearward viewing camera such as a forward park-aid camera or areverse-aid camera (such camera/display systems as disclosed in U.S.provisional application Ser. No. 60/243,986, filed Oct. 27, 2000, inU.S. provisional application Ser. No. 60/238,483, filed Oct. 6, 2000,and in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/466,010, filed Dec. 17, 1999,now U.S. Pat. No. 6,420,975, the entire disclosures of which are herebyincorporated by reference herein), and with the tire pressureinformation generated by the tire pressure display/monitoring systemcontroller (and preferably with the tire pressure display/monitoringsystem controller included in the flip-down display assembly, includingthe antenna that receives wireless broadcasts, typically RF signals,from the tire sensors in the individual wheels on the vehicle, as wellas any microprocessor, user-input controls/buttons, electronic memoryand allied circuitry associated with the controller) displayed as analternate to other images displayed on the display screen and/orsuperimposed upon any display being displayed (or as a “picture in apicture”) by the display screen. For example, a flip-down video screenmay be displaying a view of a baby in a rear-seat child seat and/or bedisplaying a GPS data display that guides the driver with regard todirection/local geography. When requested by the driver (such as byvoice command or by actuation of a user-input control such as a buttonor touch screen) or when the tire pressure display/monitoring systemdetects that tire pressure in a particular tire is below or above arecommended level for that tire on that vehicle, then a display of tirepressure (for example, a display that indicates that the rearpassenger-side tire pressure is at 26 psi and that the correct tirepressure should be 35 psi, thus alerting the driver to make a tirepressure adjustment at a convenient service station) is displayed at theflip-down video display assembly, either separate from or superimposedupon whatever that display screen was currently displaying. Note thatthe flip-down video display assembly (or any other displayassembly/accessory assembly/interior rear view mirror assembly/exteriorside view mirror assembly used in conjunction with a tire pressuredisplay/monitoring system, such as described herein), can include arange of accessories, including an antenna (such as an RF antenna or amicrowave antenna) and/or receiver circuitry (and any allied circuitry)associated with receipt of wireless communication from, for example, aGPS satellite or a telematics service provider or a satellite providerof information or entertainment to the vehicle (such as from a satellitenews, information and entertainment provider such as Sirius Inc., thatprovides, for example, digital broadcast signals via satellite of radiostations, or from a provider that broadcasts digital television signalsthat are received, and processed in the vehicle, and preferably with atleast some components, such as the antenna and receiver circuitrylocated at, on, in or adjacent to the interior rearview mirror assemblyand/or at, on or adjacent to any associated video display assembly).

A further embodiment of a video mirror system 6700 that included in atire pressure monitoring system and/or a tire pressure display system isshown in FIG. 23. Video mirror system 6700 includes an interior rearviewmirror assembly 6710 and a video display assembly 6712, whichincorporates movable support 6732 that includes support arm 6738 andpivot joints 6732 a, 6732 b. Similar to the previous embodiments,interior rearview mirror assembly 6710 includes a mirror housing 6714and a reflective element 6716 (preferably, an electrochromic reflectiveelement) and, further, a mirror housing support 6729. Mirror housingsupport 6729 includes a mirror mount 6726 and a support arm 6724. Thoughillustrated with a dual ball mount arrangement, support 6729 may includea fixed support arm or may include a single ball mount arrangement topermit either pivoting of support arm 6724 about mirror mount 6726 orpivoting between support arm 6724 and housing 6714, as will beunderstood by those skilled in the art.

Video display support 6732 comprises an elongate support arm 6738 withan upper fixed portion 6751 which is adapted to detachably mount towindshield mirror mounting button 6720. Upper fixed portion 6751includes a mirror mounting button 6736, on which mirror mount 6726 ofmirror assembly 6710 is detachably mounted to provide a detachable, andpreferably break-away connection, for interior rearview mirror assembly6710. The lower portion of support arm 6738 includes a pivot joint 6732b to video screen housing 6730 of video display assembly 6712. Pivotjoints 6732 a, 6732 b allow a viewer of video screen 6731 to adjust itsviewing angle to suit the need/preference of the driver or front-seatpassenger of the vehicle. Similar to the previous embodiments, videodisplay assembly 6712 includes a video screen 6731 (that, preferably, iscoated on its outer surface with an antiglare means, such as describedabove, and most preferably an interference-stack anti-glaremulti-coating stack of thin films, typically metal oxides, forming ananti-glare multilayer stack), which is housed in a housing 6730, and acarrier 6742, such as a printed circuit which supports electronics forvarious functions preferably within assembly 6712, including videoscreen 6731. Further, video display assembly 6712 preferably includes atleast one control button 6744 which may be used, for example, to actuatescreen 6731 (or change a contrast/color tint, display intensity, or thelike) and/or other functions provided by the circuit board on carrier6742.

Upper fixed portion 6751 of video display assembly 6712 includes ahousing portion that includes a variety of vehicle accessories andcontrols including tire pressure display controller 6773. For example, aGPS navigational system 6754, including a GPS antenna, is included inhousing 6751. Also included is another accessory 6756 that may, forexample, comprise a trainable garage door opener such as the HomeLink®GDO system available from JCI of Holland, Mich. and/or may comprise acellular phone system including a complete telecommunicationsystem/antenna/transceiver and/or a telematic system including antennaand transceiver and/or an automatic toll booth/remote transactiontransceiver system and/or a compass direction system including a compasssensor, such as is described above and/or any of the vehicle accessoriesand functions described above. Upper fixed portion 6751 also includes amicrophone system 6750 (preferably a multi-microphone array including adigital sound processing system included in housing 6751) suitable foruse in voice command interactions, cellular phone interactions,hands-free phone operations, telematic communications and the like, anda loudspeaker 6752 suitable to, for example, audibly convey to thedriver navigational directions/instructions from the GPS system 6754and/or audibly read out e-mail messages received through an INTERNETconnection via a telematic link, and the like, or can function as acomponent of a speaker phone system included in video display assembly6712. A rain sensor 6758 is included in or at upper portion 6751. Cellphone and other function user access control interfaces/buttons 6746 areincluded in the forward facing upper portion of video display housing6730. The lower portion of video display housing 6730 includes aninformation display 6748 that includes a non-video information displayelement 6749 that is visible to the driver and/or occupant of thevehicle. Information display element 6749 can be any one of the displaytypes described previously (such as a vacuum fluorescent display, an LEDdisplay, an electroluminescent display, or a liquid crystal display),and preferably is a multi-pixel display capable of being reconfigured,and capable of displaying scrolling text including alphanumerical textin various fonts and languages. For example, display element 6749 candisplay, in response to GPS system 6754, the name of the next street orjunction or highway entry/exit ramp being approached by the vehicleequipped with video mirror system 6700. Display element 6749 can displayan information output of a tire pressure monitoring system and/or a tirepressure display system, and a component (such as the controller) of atire pressure monitoring system and/or a tire pressure display systemcan be incorporated into video mirror system 6700.

As seen in video mirror system 6700, a stand-alone GPS and/or cellularphone and/or telematic system, including voice operated and voicerecognizing systems, and/or stand-alone tire pressure display/monitoringsystems, can be provided in an assembly that attaches local to or at theattachment point in the vehicle where the interior mirror attaches (suchas is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,930,742, the entire disclosure ofwhich is hereby incorporated by reference herein) and in a manner thatuse can be made of the microphones and/or control buttons and/or otheraccessories in the video display assembly without effecting the positionof the mirror housing of the interior mirror assembly (and thereby thefield of view of its reflective element). Thus, for example, a drivercan dial a phone number or actuate a telematic control button or actuatea control of a tire pressure display/monitoring system in video mirrorsystem 6700 without effecting the position of the mirror housing orotherwise perturbing the interior mirror assembly (the interior mirrorassembly being separate from and independent of the video displayassembly). Also, the weight of the accessories, controls, microphones,antennae, circuitry, and the like in the video display assembly issupported by the windshield mounting button/header mounting plate (oralternately, by a separate windshield attachment member/headerattachment member as previously described) and not by the interiormirror assembly so that vibration of the mirror reflective element isunaffected. Also, by mounting the video display assembly as in videomirror system 6700, provision of a stand-alone telematic system and/ortelecommunication/phone system (including a video phone system) and/or aGPS navigational system as an aftermarket/dealership option/OEM optionitem is facilitated. Note that variants of video mirror system 6700 arepossible, including some where the video display and its support aredispensed with and display element 6749 is located at fixed portion 6751(such as part of a lobe or gondola visible below the interior mirrorassembly) and is used to convey information to the driver, inconjunction with audio instructions played via loudspeaker 6752 (oralternately, played over another loudspeaker in the vehicle cabin).

Also, the video display in any of the video mirror applications of thepresent invention, such as video mirror system 6700, can function as thedisplay screen for a portable computer device, a portable cellularphone, and/or a portable personal digital assistant device (PDA) such asa PalmPilot® or other personal digital assistant. When serving as thedisplay screen of a PDA, the PDA/in-vehicle display screen canoptionally operate in combination with a cellular phone or as astand-alone device. Also, any of the video display screens of thepresent invention, such as video display screen 6731, can serve multiplepurposes such as a video screen for an on-board vehicular camera and/oras the video monitor screen for a portable computing/PDA/cellularphone/telecommunication device, an added on as or time. The videodisplay system of the present invention can itself function as anin-vehicle PDA and/or cellular phone, in addition to other functions asdescribed above. Portable devices such as PDAs, cellular phones, andpalm/notebook/laptop portable computers can connect to/communicate withthe video mirror systems of the present invention by direct wiredconnection/docking or by wireless communication such as described inU.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/561,023, filed Apr. 28, 2000, nowU.S. Pat. No. 6,553,308; U.S. provisional Pat. application Ser. No.60/131,593, filed Apr. 29, 1999; and U.S. provisional Pat. applicationSer. No. 60/199,676, filed Apr. 21, 2000, the entire disclosures ofwhich are hereby incorporated by reference herein. Preferably, the videomirror systems of the present invention, such as video mirror system6700, is equipped with a mobile device communication port (such as anIrDA-port) that transmits/receives data via wireless infraredcommunication. For example, any of the video display housings and/or anyof the video attachment members/mounts and/or any of the interior mirrorassemblies can be equipped with a mobile device communication port (suchas an IrDA-port) that transmits/receives data via wireless infraredcommunication. Also, any of the video display assemblies, including anyof the video display screens or video display housings can be adapted toreceive data input by touch such as by a human finger or a stylus suchas via a touch screen, and such as is disclosed in U.S. provisional Pat.application Ser. No. 60/192,721, filed Mar. 27, 2000, the entiredisclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein. The flipdown/positionable video display assemblies of the present invention arepreferred locations for a wireless telecommunications receiver,transmitter or communications node, including such used as part of a GPSnavigational system. Also, the front surface of the stowed flip-downvideo display assemblies of the present invention can optionally be usedas an information display location itself or as a location for atransmitter or receiver for the like of a GPS system, an interactivesystem, and a telematic system. Also, since it is perceived unsafe, andin some jurisdictions illegal, to transport children in a 5th wheeltowed vehicle unless there is aural communication with the towingvehicle, placement of microphones and cameras in the towed vehicle, incombination with the video mirror systems and other displays of thepresent invention, can allow full communication with any towed vehicle,both visual and oral/aural, an aspect of the present invention that isof importance for the RV industry in particular. Note also a reverse-aidcamera that views immediately rearward of the vehicle is useful inguiding a driver when maneuvering the vehicle to attach a tow barreceiving element on the vehicle (typically, a ball element) to a the“tow ball” receiving socket on a tow bar of a trailer or the like. By“seeing” the ball element on a video screen such as any of thosedescribed herein, the driver can position the vehicle to engage thehitch-joining element of the trailer to be towed. Note also that any ofthe interior mirror assemblies or video display assemblies can include acamera-based “black box” recorder of the forward driving scene and/orthe cabin of the vehicle. Such a “black box” recorder can, for example,be located in the cavity formed by the mirror housing of the interiorrearview mirror assembly, or can be mounted to the mount that attachedthe mirror assembly to a windshield or header portion of the interiorcabin of the vehicle. Note that, for economy, a preferable audible tirepressure indicator device comprises the horn of the vehicle that isnormally present (such as in an engine compartment of the vehicle) to besounded when the driver needs to alert others of his/her presence. Notealso that, optionally, any of the video display assemblies and interiorrearview mirror assemblies disclosed herein can include an electronictoll collection transceiver (located such as in an interior mirrorhousing or in an attachment to an interior mirror mount or in a displayassembly).

A further embodiment of a video mirror system 6800 that includescomponents of and/or displays information generated by a tire pressuremonitoring system and/or a tire pressure display system is shown in FIG.24. Video mirror system 6800 includes an interior rearview mirrorassembly 6810. Similar to the previous embodiments, interior rearviewmirror assembly 6810 includes a mirror housing 6814 and a reflectiveelement 6816 (preferably, an electrochromic reflective element) and,further, a mirror housing support 6824. Mirror housing 6814 furtherincludes a video screen 6831 and control circuitry 6846. The mirrormount 6826 mounts to a mirror mounting member or button 6836. Mirrorbutton 6836 is part of the attachment portion 6851 of accessory assembly6812. Attachment portion 6851 of accessory assembly 6812 is adapted todetachably mount to windshield mirror mounting button 6820. As describedabove, attachment portion 6851 includes a mirror mounting button 6836,on which mirror mount 6826 of mirror assembly 6810 is detachably mountedto provide a detachable, and preferably break-away connection, forinterior rearview mirror assembly 6810. Note that windshield mountingbutton 6820 is generally co-axial with mirror mounting button 6836 ofattachment member or portion 6851. Accessory assembly 6812 preferablyincludes at least one control button 6876 which may be used, forexample, to actuate screen 6831 (or change a contrast/color tint,display intensity, or the like) and/or other functions provided bycircuit board 6846.

Attachment portion 6851 of accessory assembly 6812 includes a housingportion 6859 that includes a variety of vehicle accessories andcontrols, such as the controller and/or display for a tire pressuremonitoring system and/or a tire pressure display system. For example, aGPS navigational system 6854, preferably including a GPS antenna, isincluded in housing 6859. Also included are other accessories 6856,6855, 6858 that may, for example, comprise a trainable garage dooropener such as the HomeLink® GDO system available from JCI of Holland,Mich. and/or may comprise a cellular phone system including the completetelecommunication system/antenna/transceiver and/or a telematic systemincluding antenna and transceiver and/or an automatic toll booth/remotetransaction transceiver system and/or a compass direction systemincluding a compass sensor, and/or a complete tire pressuredisplay/monitoring controller, such as is described above and/or any ofthe vehicle accessories and functions described above. Accessory housing6859 also includes a microphone system 6850 (preferably amulti-microphone array including a digital sound processing systemincluded in housing 6859) suitable for use in voice commandinteractions, cellular phone interactions, telematic communications andthe like, and a loudspeaker 6852 suitable to, for example, audiblyconvey to the driver navigational directions/instructions from the GPSsystem 6854 and/or audibly read out e-mail messages received through anINTERNET connection via a telematic link, and the like. A rain sensor6858 is included in or at attachment portion 6851. Cell phone and otherfunction user access control interfaces/buttons 6874, 6876 are includedin the forward facing (towards the driver/interior cabin occupant) ofaccessory housing 6859. Accessory housing 6859 includes an informationdisplay 6848 that includes a non-video information display element 6849that is visible to the driver and/or occupant of the vehicle.Information display element 6849 can be any one of the display typesdescribed previously (such as a vacuum fluorescent display, an LEDdisplay, an electroluminescent display, or a liquid crystal display),and preferably is a multi-pixel display capable of being reconfigured,and capable of displaying scrolling text including alphanumerical textin various fonts and languages. For example, display element 6849 candisplay, in response to GPS system 6854, the name of the next street orjunction or highway entry/exit ramp being approached by the vehicleequipped with video mirror system 6800. Accessory module 6812 is alsoequipped with a video camera 6843 for viewing a portion of the interiorcabin (such as, for example, viewing a front passenger seat so as tofunction as a seat occupancy detector) and/or for viewing an occupant ofthe vehicle (such as a driver's head/face portion). Optionally, near-IRand/or visible light sources, as described previously, can be positionedat housing 6859 so as to illuminate the target area being viewed bycamera 6843. A forward facing camera 6821 is also provided at or withinaccessory module 6812 with a field of view through the front windshield(for automatic headlamp control and/or collision avoidance and/orwindshield fogging detection and/or rain sensing and/or smart headlampcontrol). User actuatable controls 6875 are provided on the frontportion of accessory housing 6859 to allow user actuation of a varietyof vehicle functions and/or accessories (such as actuation of orcolor/tint control of video screen 6831). A photo sensor 6811 (such as aphoto diode, or a photo transistor, or a photo resistor) is provided toallow measurement of cabin ambient lighting for a variety of purposes,such as automatic intensity control of the video image displayed onvideo screen 6831. An instrument panel/floor console/gear shift consoleilluminating light source 6801 (preferably an LED) is provided at thelower surface of accessory housing 6859.

As seen in video mirror system 6800, a stand-alone GPS and/or cellularphone and/or telematic system, including voice operated and voicerecognizing systems, as well as other vehicle functions such as akeyless entry receiver, a map/reading light, an intrusion detector, aseat occupancy detector, a trainable/universal garage door opener, arain sensor, a compass sensor, a headlamp controller, a twilightsentinel, a tool transceiver, a remote transaction transceiver, awindshield fogging detector as well as any other vehicle accessorydescribed above, can be provided in a module assembly that attacheslocal to or at the attachment point in the vehicle where the interiormirror attaches (such as is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,930,742, theentire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein)and in a manner that use can be made of the microphones and/or controlbuttons and/or other accessories in the accessory assembly withouteffecting the position of the mirror housing of the interior mirrorassembly (and thereby the field of view of its reflective element), andpreferably in a manner and at a location such that at least a portion,and preferably at least a substantial portion, of the accessory moduleis disposed behind the rear of the interior mirror housing of theinterior rearview mirror assembly (and so in a region that minimizesobstruction of the driver's forward field of view through the frontwindshield). Thus, for example, a driver can dial a phone number oractuate a telematic control button in video mirror system 6800 withouteffecting the position of the mirror housing or otherwise perturbing theinterior mirror assembly (the interior mirror assembly being separatefrom and independent of the accessory assembly). Also, the weight of theaccessories, controls, microphones, antennae, circuitry, and the like inthe accessory assembly is supported by the windshield mountingbutton/header mounting plate (or alternately, by a separate windshieldattachment member/header attachment member as previously described) andnot by the interior mirror assembly so that vibration of the mirrorreflective element is unaffected. Also, by mounting the accessoryassembly as in video mirror system 6800, provision of a stand-alonetelematic system and/or telecommunication/phone system (including avideo phone system) and/or a GPS navigational system as anaftermarket/dealership option/OEM option item is facilitated. Note thatvariants of video mirror system 6800 are possible, such as where theaccessory assembly is provided with pivot joints, as previouslydescribed, in order to allow positioning at a position and/or viewingangle desirable to a driver and/or occupant. Thus, for example,accessory housing 6859 of accessory module assembly 6812 can be movableabout accessory module attachment portion 6851 so that the position ofaccessory module housing 6859 can be adjusted (about at least one axis,preferably about at least two axes, more preferably, about at leastthree axes) to position the user access/control buttons, informationdisplay and the like at the accessory housing 6859 at a location and/ora viewing angle desired/preferred by an occupant of the vehicle such asa driver or front seat passenger. Also, optionally and preferably,accessory module housing 6859 can be stowed as previously described whenviewing of its information display and/or access to its control inputsis not desired. Thus, accessory module 6812 can comprise a flip-downaccessory housing 6859 that is articulatable left to right and up anddown. Also, when a cellular phone and/or a telematic device and/or a PDAand/or personal computing device is docked in or included in theaccessory assembly 6812, accessory assembly 6812 can include aloudspeaker (as described above) and associated sound amplificationcircuitry so that accessory module assembly 6812 functions as astand-alone in-vehicle sound system, thus providing, for example, aspeaker-phone function. Also, a passenger side inflatable restraintindicator display that indicates the state of activation/deactivation ofan air bag or similar inflatable occupant restraint in the vehicle cabin(such as is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,087,953, the entire disclosureof which is hereby incorporated by reference herein) can be included inaccessory assembly 6812 such as at information display 6848. Also,accessory assembly 6812 can include various accessories and devices suchas a seat occupancy detector (visible detector, ultrasound detector,radar detector, microwave detector, thermal detector (including apyrodetector), infrared detector) and/or a keyless entry receiver and/ora cabin occupancy detector (such as a pyrodetector or an infrareddetector or an ultrasound detector or an infrared detector) and/or a maplight/reading light.

A further embodiment of a video mirror system 6800′ that includescomponents of (such as a controller that includes an antenna, amicroprocessor, user-input controls, and/or allied electronic circuitry)and/or an information display of a tire pressure monitoring systemand/or a tire pressure display system is shown in FIG. 24A. Video mirrorsystem 6800′ is similar in features and content to video mirror system6800 of FIG. 24, and comprises an interior mirror assembly 6810′ and anaccessory module assembly 6812′. Accessory module attachment portion6851′ of accessory module assembly 6812′ attaches to windshield-mountedattachment member 6820′ via a break-away mount that detaches when animpact at above a pre-determined impact force is experienced.Preferably, attachment member 6820′ consists of a mirror mounting buttonsuch as is commonly found on the inner surface of vehicular windshieldsof MY00 vehicles such as from Ford Motor Company, Toyota Motors, BMW,General Motors Corporation, Volkswagen, Mazda, Daimler ChryslerCorporation, Nissan, Renault, Volvo, Audi and the like. Also,preferably, the receiving portion of accessory module attachment portion6851′ that attaches to windshield-mounted attachment member 6820′ is thesame as would be found on the mounting portion of an interior rearviewmirror assembly that would attach to the windshield mounting button onthe windshield of that particular vehicle model. This has severaladvantages. By making the mounting-to-the-windshield-button portion ofaccessory module assembly 6812′ the same as that of the interiorrearview mirror assembly that would normally attach to that particulartype/construction of windshield-mounted mirror button, an automaker cansupply an interior rearview mirror assembly and/or an accessory moduleassembly (with an interior mirror assembly mounting thereto) inaccordance with the option(s) selected by a consumer ordering anindividual vehicle. Also, dealership and after-market installation of anaccessory module assembly is greatly facilitated. Only one mirror buttonneed be mounted on the windshield (typically by the windshieldmanufacturer), although, optionally more than one attachment member canbe adhered to the glass inner surface of the windshield, preferably witha substantially opaque black-out frit to mask the presence of suchmembers when viewed from outside the vehicle through the frontwindshield. Also, because a mirror mount design is used for theattachment of accessory module attachment portion 6851′ to thewindshield-mounted attachment member 6820′, such attachment can be abreak-away/detachable mounting that passes automaker and governmentalsafety standards and specifications for head impact, air-bag deployment,and the like, as well as being easy to install (such as at a vehicleassembly line) and/or to remove (such as during a service repair or thelike) while maintaining a secure, reliable attachment during normal usefor the vehicle lifetime. Also, a pivot joint 6803′ (such as a balljoint similar to that commonly used on interior mirror assembly supportarms, as described above) is provided on accessory module attachmentportion 6851′ so that should accessory module housing 6859′ be impacted,such as in an accident, the housing moves away from the impacting body(such as an occupant's head), thus reducing potential injury. Thus,accessory module 6812′ is adapted to meet automaker and regulatory headimpact standards and specifications. Pivot joint 6803′ also allowspositioning of accessory housing 6859′ to suit a driver's and/oroccupant's needs, such as, for example, to position information displayelement 6849′ for view by the driver and/or controls 6876′, 6874′, 6875′for ready access by the driver.

Also, and optionally, the accessory module assembly 6812 and the otherflip-down, articulatable video display assemblies described above can besupported by an attachment member separate from the windshield-mountedor header-mounted mirror attachment button or plate. Examples of suchseparate mounting members are described above. A preferred adhesive toattach windshield mirror mounting buttons and/or windshield mountingattachment members for supporting an accessory module assembly or avideo display assembly is a structural adhesive such as a modified epoxystructural bonding tape available from 3M of Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn.under the trade names SBT9214, SBT9263 and SBT9270. Alternately, asilicone adhesive, such the silicone adhesive available from Dow Corningof Midland, Mich. under the trade name SOTEFA can be used or a polyvinylbutyral adhesive such as available from Solutia is can be used. Forheavier video mirror systems/accessory module assemblies, such as thoseweighing in excess of 500 g and particularly in excess of 750 g, use ofa structural bonding tape such as described above to bond the attachmentmember (such as the windshield mirror button) to the inner surface ofthe windshield is preferred.

Also, the video display in any of the video mirror/video displayassemblies above, such as video mirror system 6800, can function as thedisplay screen for a portable computer device, a portable cellularphone, and/or a portable personal digital assistant device (PDA) such asa PalmPilot® or other personal digital assistant. When serving as thedisplay screen of a PDA, the PDA/in-vehicle display screen canoptionally operate in combination with a cellular phone or as astand-alone device. Also, any of the video display screens above, suchas video display screen 6831, can serve multiple purposes such as avideo screen for an on-board vehicular camera and/or as the videomonitor screen for a portable computing/PDA/cellularphone/telecommunication device in addition to, or as an alternative to,functioning as a display of a tire pressure display/monitoring system.For example, a removable telecommunication and/or computing accessory6827 can be removably docked into docking station 6828 of accessorymodule 6812. For example, and as described in disclosed in U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 09/585,679 filed Jun. 1, 2000, which isincorporated herein in its entirety, and in U.S. patent application Ser.No. 09/449,121, filed Nov. 24, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,428,172, theentire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein, acellular phone or a personal digital assistant device such as aPalmPilot® or a pager or a hand-held communication device and the likecan be removably attached to accessory module 6812. Also, note that,optionally, any of the display assemblies (such as the flip downdisplays described above) of the present invention and/or the cameraassemblies of the present invention can be detached and used remote fromthe vehicle (or hand-held in the vehicle) as part of a portable videodevice, portable computer monitor, portable PDA or portable navigationdevice.

Thus, it is seen that the present invention provides a tire inflationmonitoring system which provides a useful adjunct to the inflation ofthe vehicle tires. Because the visible tire inflation indicator assemblyis positioned at or on an exterior vehicle portion such as a body sidepanel or on an exterior rearview mirror assembly where it is readilyvisible from the area surrounding each of the vehicle tires, itfacilitates rapid adjustment of the inflation condition of the tires,thus increasing the safe operation of the vehicle. Also, preferably, thetire inflation indicator assembly is positioned on the exterior bodyportion at a location readily visible to a person crouching down at awheel tire to inflate. The present invention includes provision ofaudible and/or tactile tire pressure indicators, as described above.

Furthermore, a tire inflation monitoring system, according to theinvention, provides a useful indication to the vehicle user when theuser is entering or leaving the vehicle that the tire pressure monitoredby each of the tire inflation indicator assemblies is within a range ofpressure as recommended by the manufacturer or outside of that range,thus alerting the user to take action to bring the pressure of the tirewithin the range specified by the manufacturer preferably beforeoperating the vehicle.

Other modifications may suggest themselves to the skilled artisan. Forexample, a single tire inflation indicator assembly 19 may include onecolor indicator for the rear tire on that side of the vehicle and adifferent color indicator for the front tire on that side of thevehicle. Alternatively, one tire inflation indicator assembly may beprovided for indicating the tire inflation condition of the rear tireassembly, and a different tire inflation indicator assembly may indicatethe direct inflation condition of the front tire on that side of thevehicle.

Also, communication between components of the tire inflation assistancemonitoring system of this present invention can be by wire (such as adirect wire connection or via an optical fiber link) or via a bus system(such as a CAN or LIN system, as known in the arts) or wirelessly suchas by IR or RF communication (such as using a local area RF broadcastnetwork such as the BLUETOOTH protocol from Motorola of Schaumberg,Ill.), such as is disclosed in and co-assigned U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 09/466,010, filed Dec. 17, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,420,975,the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by referenceherein, and in and co-assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/449,121, filed Nov. 24, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,428,172, the entiredisclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein.

Note also, while it is preferable to position the visible tire pressureindicator (such as a high intensity LED light source) on an exteriorportion of the vehicle, it may optionally be located at an interiorcabin portion (such as at a rearview mirror assembly (preferably at itsmount to a header or windshield portion, or at a lower/underside portionof the mirror housing), or as part of an interior roof portion such as aheadliner region or a dome light or as part of a doorpanel/frame/assembly (inside the vehicle but visible via a sidewindow)). However, preferably it is mounted at an interior portion thatis visible to a person crouching down to pump air into a tire on thevehicle. Use of an audible tire pressure indicator (such as a horn ofthe vehicle or another sound generator that momentarily sounds or“chirps” when the correct tire pressure is reached) in conjunction witha visible tire pressure indicator (and especially an interiorcabin-mounted visible tire pressure indicator) is most preferred.

Also, it may be advantageous to mount a controller for thepassenger-side wheel tire sensors (or at least the antenna thereof) inor at the passenger-side exterior side view mirror assembly (such as inthe mirror casing thereof) so that a passenger-side tire adjust event isreadily recognized. Also, it may be advantageous to mount a controllerfor the driver-side wheel tire sensors (or at least the antenna thereof)in or at the driver-side exterior side view mirror assembly (such as inthe mirror casing thereof) so that a driver-side tire adjust event isreadily recognized. Also, it may be advantageous to mount a controllerfor the driver-side wheel tire sensors (or at least the antenna thereof)in or at the driver-side door handle assembly(s) (such as in the casingthereof) so that a driver-side tire adjust event is readily recognized.Also, it may be advantageous to mount a controller for thepassenger-side wheel tire sensors (or at least the antenna thereof) inor at the passenger-side door handle assembly(s) (such as in the casingthereof) so that a passenger-side tire adjust event is readilyrecognized.

Also, any of the displays or video displays above can display tirepressure status, as described above, and further can optionally,occasionally, or frequently display other types of information, such astemperature, compass headings, messages, including pager status, pagermessages, E-mail messages, images from an interior cabin surveillancesystem or back-up system, or the like, in addition to or alternately tothe tire pressure status.

Other displays are possible, such as of a night-vision camera(preferably a multi-pixel pyrodetection array) that views forward of thevehicle (or rearward) when driving/parking at night. Location at orwithin an exterior side view mirror assembly is a desired location.Also, preferably, either or both of the night vision camera and thevideo display screen it displays on is removable from the vehicle. Thus,for example, a vehicle can be equipped with a night vision cameraassembly (such as available from Raytheon) and with the night visioncamera assembly detachably mounted to the vehicle (such as to a door ofthe vehicle such that the imaging surface/lens of the camera assembly isoutside the vehicle. The field of view of the night vision camera is inthe direction of the vehicle's forward direction of travel. A displaysscreen for this camera can be provided in the interior cabin (such asat, on or adjacent to the interior rearview mirror assembly). Thedisplay screen is included in a display assembly that is also detachablymounted in the vehicle. Then, for example, when a driver drives to adark site (such as a field or woods while out hunting) using and guidedby the vehicle-mounted night vision camera/display system, the drivercan optionally detach the camera from its mount on the vehicle anddetach the display from its mount on the vehicle, and then remount thenight vision camera and the display assembly onto a portable,battery-powered module that the driver can then use as a portable nightvision system that allows the driver “see” in the dark by using viewingthe image generated by the night vision camera on the display screen ofthe display device. This provides a night vision “flashlight” utility.Upon return to the vehicle, the driver demounts the camera and displayassemblies from the portable module, remounts them on the vehicle, andrecommences in-vehicle use while driving home.

Also, tire pressure monitoring systems of the type which include at eachwheel, within the pressurized cavity of the tire, a pressure transducer,preferably also a temperature transducer, a microcontroller or controlcircuit, and a radio frequency transmitter, in many cases do not haveany external source of power. A small battery must support thecontinuous transmission of data for many years, 10 years being typicalof automotive component required lifetimes. It is, therefore, essentialthat the wheel based measuring and transmitting units consume as littlepower as possible. In order to achieve minimum power consumption,pressure and temperature conditions are measured and transmitted on aregular but relatively infrequent basis. Typically, the measurement andtransmission periods may be in the order of micro or milliseconds, whilethe delay between these periods may be in the order of seconds or tensof seconds. While, since generally tire pressures and temperatureschange relatively slowly, these frequencies of transmission aresufficient for normal communication of tire conditions. However, theyare not sufficient to monitor the rapid changes associated with typicalinflation rates, or deflation rates resulting from severe tire damage.It is preferable, therefore, to increase the rate of data transmission,to the order of several transmissions per second, during periods ofrapid tire pressure change, to provide timely feedback to the operatorduring the tire inflation process during a tire pressure adjust eventsuch as at a service station, or to provide timely warning of arelatively rapid tire deflation due to tire damage to a driver whiledriving the vehicle (such as via any of the in-cabin tirepressure/status displays described above. While the tire pressuremonitoring system may be put into tire inflation mode by a user operatedswitch (or by detection of depression of a tire valve nipple or thelike), it may preferably be selected automatically when the centralcontrol unit detects the increased frequency of transmissions from aparticular wheel mounted unit.

It should be noted that the above described system to aid the tireinflation process may be applied to tire pressure monitoring systemswhich do not rely on battery powered transmissions such as wirelessinduction systems or systems which incorporate mechanically generatedpower based on wheel rotation.

The temperature of the air within a tire cavity varies significantlyover time due to varying ambient temperature, road surface temperature,and heat generation due to tire wall flexing while driving. Since theair within the tire obeys Boyle's Law, the pressure and tire volume varywith varying temperature according to the formula: P×V/T=a constant.Typically the desired tire air pressure is specified at a nominalambient temperature, but in a typical tire inflation situation in whichthe vehicle has been driven to a service station or suitable source ofcompressed air, the tires on the wheels on that vehicle are typically attemperatures other than (and higher than) the nominal ambient value (forexample, if parked for a prolonged period so that tire temperaturematched ambient temperature), depending on the recent driving history orcurrent ambient conditions. It is undesirable to wait such as at aservice station for sufficient time for the tires to cool to ambienttemperatures before inflation. It is, therefore, preferable that thetire pressure monitoring system includes an algorithm based on Boyle'sLaw (or another gas pressure/temperature relationship), which correctsfor the effect of temperature, and with the tire pressure monitoringsystem determining the appropriate pressure set point on the basis ofthe desired pressure at ambient temperature and the temperature of theair in the tire, and a pressure volume relationship for the particulartire and wheel rim combination. It is reasonable to ignore the volumevariable since this will be approximately constant for a particularpressure for a particular wheel rim and tire combination. Thus a tirepressure indicator provided such as at an outside side view mirrorassembly, or by use of a horn chirp or similar momentary sounding of thecar horn, by flashing of the turn signal lamps, or by other means canprovide a signal to the operator at a temperature compensated pressuresuch that on return to nominal ambient temperature the pressure willreturn to the desired set point. By this means the vehicle operator doesnot have to be concerned with absolute pressure values, or with theeffects of temperature. This same algorithm may be used for continuousmonitoring such that out of adjustment pressure warnings are onlyinitiated after temperature compensations have been made. Thus, onsetting up the system, it is only necessary to input the manufacturer'srecommended pressure at nominal temperatures for each tire on thevehicle. If the system requires wheel position training, the appropriateaction such as a slight inflation or deflation of tires in sequence canbe taken. Thereafter the tire condition indication merely requires asystem-active status and a low or high pressure condition (if present)input, and wheel position identification.

It is known to provide a system with a receiver local to each wheel onthe vehicle, for instance located in the wheel well, such that thesystem does not require the wheel position training step describedabove. For economic reasons, however, a single omni-directional receiveris more typically used. However, it is practical to combine thedescribed tire monitoring system with two directional antennae in acentral location such that one antenna is responsive to transmissionsources to the left and right hand sides of the vehicle, the secondresponsive to transmission sources to the rear and front of the vehicle.Combination of the two antennae responses allows the economicdetermination, such as by a triangulation algorithm, of each wheeltransmitter position without the need for local antennae, thus avoidingthe need for the above described position training step, and retrainingafter tire rotation, and allowing an automatic identification of fromwhat wheel type (front or rear; passenger-side or driver-side) anindividual wireless broadcast of tire pressure data received at acentral controller is being broadcast from. Such an autosensing tirepressure system (that automatically identifies the particular wheel onthe vehicle from which a received wireless signal is being broadcastfrom so that it can distinguish that, for example, a tire sensorbroadcasting is located on a rear driver's side wheel rather than anyother wheel) has many advantages. Preferably, such an autosensing tirepressure system includes two spaced antennae (either spaced apart on acommon assembly in the vehicle or at different locations in the vehicle,such as one antenna on a driver side, such as at a driver side exteriorrearview mirror assembly, with the other on a passenger side, such as ata passenger side exterior rearview mirror assembly or with one locatedat an interior rearview mirror assembly and the other in a headerconsole or other roof portion of the vehicle). By the receiving antennaeof the tire pressure display/monitoring system being spaced apart but inknown locations within or at the vehicle, a control or processor, suchas within the tire pressure monitoring controller, can identify thelocation of a given tire sensor in a given wheel by analyzing thedifferences in the respective signals using, for example, triangulationtechniques, which triangulation techniques are known in the art. Thus,the driver can rotate or change the position of tires on the vehicle andthe tire monitoring system will “learn” or automatically identify thelocation of each tire sensor broadcasting, and will then be able toinform the driver, for example, that “Tire pressure for FrontPassenger-Side Tire is 32 psi”. Thus, an automatic vehicle wheelidentification function is provided for the tire pressuredisplay/monitoring system of the present invention.

The present invention provides a method of assisting manual tireinflation by a person whereby, for example, a driver can pull up to anair compressor station at a service station, turn off the vehicle engineand exit the vehicle, and crouch down at a particular wheel tire toinflate using the air hose provided at the service center. Uponconnecting the air hose to the valve stem of that tire, the driver canview a visible indicator provided at an exterior vehicle portion such ason the underside of the casing that houses the exterior mirror reflectorin the exterior side view mirror assembly on that side of the vehicle,and/or hear an audible tire pressure indicator such as can be providedvia a sound pattern produced by the horn on the vehicle that is codedto/indicative of the tire pressure condition being sensed in aparticular tire that is having its tire pressure adjusted, and/orexperience actuation of a tactile tire pressure indicator while pumpingair into a tire. Upon commencing the tire pressure adjust event, thedriver can view the indicator, whose illumination is coded to indicatethe tire pressure status (whether it be in an under pressure condition,a correct pressure condition or an over pressure condition) and/orlisten for/to the sound generated by the audible tire pressureindicator, and/or experience actuation of a tactile tire pressureindicator while pumping air into a tire. Guided by the codedillumination of the indicator(s) and/or audible sounds provided externalthe vehicle and/or tactile feedback from the tactile tire pressuresensor, and while still crouched in the act of adjusting tire pressure,the driver can inflate/deflate that tire's pressure to the recommended,desired pressure level (a pressure level preferably stored in a memoryof the vehicle).

Other changes and modifications in the specifically describedembodiments can be carried out without departing from the principles ofthe invention which is intended to be limited only by the scope of theappended claims, as interpreted according to the principles of patentlaw including the doctrine of equivalents.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property orprivilege is claimed are defined as follows:
 1. A vision system for avehicle, said vision system comprising: a mirror mounting buttonattached at a first location at an in-cabin surface of a windshield of avehicle equipped with said vision system; an attachment member attachedat a second location at the in-cabin surface of the vehicle windshield;wherein a light absorbing layer disposed at the vehicle windshield atleast partially masks the presence of said attachment member from viewby a viewer who is viewing through the vehicle windshield from outsidethe equipped vehicle; wherein said first location is spaced from and isseparate from said second location; an accessory module releasablyattached to said attachment member; wherein said accessory moduleaccommodates a forward facing camera; wherein said forward facing cameracomprises a CMOS imaging device; wherein, with said accessory modulereleasably attached to said attachment member at the vehicle windshield,said forward facing camera views through the vehicle windshield; andwherein said forward facing camera comprises a component of acamera-based driver assistance system of the equipped vehicle.
 2. Thevision system of claim 1, wherein said accessory module furtheraccommodates at least one accessory selected from the group consistingof (a) a rain sensor, (b) a light sensor, (c) a tire pressure monitoringsystem receiver, (d) an antenna, (e) an antenna for an entry system, (f)a component of an electronic toll collection system, (g) an antenna fora global positioning system, (h) a component of a telematics system, (i)a speaker, (j) a microphone, (k) an illumination source, (l) a garagedoor opener, (m) a compass sensor and (n) a user actuatable input. 3.The vision system of claim 1, wherein said forward facing cameraprovides input for a camera-based “black box” recorder system.
 4. Thevision system of claim 1, wherein said driver assistance systemcomprises at least one of (i) an automatic headlamp control system ofthe equipped vehicle and (ii) a collision avoidance system of theequipped vehicle.
 5. The vision system of claim 1, wherein saidattachment member is adhesively attached at the in-cabin surface of thevehicle windshield.
 6. The vision system of claim 5, wherein saidattachment member is adhesively attached at the in-cabin surface of thevehicle windshield using an epoxy adhesive.
 7. The vision system ofclaim 6, wherein said epoxy adhesive comprises an epoxy structuralbonding tape.
 8. The vision system of claim 5, wherein said attachmentmember is adhesively attached at the in-cabin surface of the vehiclewindshield using a silicone adhesive.
 9. The vision system of claim 1,wherein said attachment member is adhesively attached at the in-cabinsurface of the vehicle windshield and wherein said mirror mountingbutton is adhesively attached at the in-cabin surface of the vehiclewindshield.
 10. The vision system of claim 9, wherein said firstlocation is adjacent said second location.
 11. The vision system ofclaim 1, wherein a shadeband is disposed at the vehicle windshield atleast proximate to where said mirror mounting button and said attachmentmember are attached at the vehicle windshield.
 12. The vision system ofclaim 1, wherein, with said accessory module releasably attached to saidattachment member at the vehicle windshield, a mirror mount of aninterior rearview mirror assembly can be mounted to said mirror mountingbutton and can be demounted from said mirror mounting button.
 13. Thevision system of claim 1, wherein said light absorbing layer comprises asubstantially opaque frit layer.
 14. A vision system for a vehicle, saidvision system comprising: a mirror mounting button attached at a firstlocation at an in-cabin surface of a windshield of a vehicle equippedwith said vision system; an attachment member attached at a secondlocation at the in-cabin surface of the vehicle windshield; wherein alight absorbing layer disposed at the vehicle windshield at leastpartially masks the presence of said attachment member from view by aviewer who is viewing through the vehicle windshield from outside theequipped vehicle; wherein said first location is spaced from and isseparate from said second location; an accessory module releasablyattached to said attachment member; wherein said accessory moduleaccommodates a forward facing camera; wherein said forward facing cameracomprises a CMOS imaging device; wherein, with said accessory modulereleasably attached to said attachment member at the vehicle windshield,said forward facing camera views through the vehicle windshield; whereinsaid forward facing camera comprises a component of at least one of (i)an automatic headlamp control system of the equipped vehicle and (ii) acollision avoidance system of the equipped vehicle; and wherein, withsaid accessory module attached to said attachment member at the vehiclewindshield, a mirror mount of an interior rearview mirror assembly canbe mounted to said mirror mounting button and can be demounted from saidmirror mounting button.
 15. The vision system of claim 14, wherein saidattachment member is adhesively attached at the in-cabin surface of thevehicle windshield.
 16. The vision system of claim 15, wherein saidattachment member is adhesively attached at the in-cabin surface of thevehicle windshield using an epoxy adhesive and wherein said epoxyadhesive comprises an epoxy structural bonding tape.
 17. The visionsystem of claim 15, wherein said first location is adjacent said secondlocation.
 18. A vision system for a vehicle, said vision systemcomprising: a mirror mounting button attached at a first location at anin-cabin surface of a windshield of a vehicle equipped with said visionsystem; an attachment member attached at a second location at thein-cabin surface of the vehicle windshield; wherein said attachmentmember is adhesively attached at the in-cabin surface of the vehiclewindshield; wherein a light absorbing layer disposed at the vehiclewindshield at least partially masks the presence of said attachmentmember from view by a viewer who is viewing through the vehiclewindshield from outside the equipped vehicle; wherein said firstlocation is spaced from and is separate from said second location; anaccessory module releasably attached to said attachment member; whereinsaid accessory module accommodates a forward facing camera; wherein saidforward facing camera comprises a CMOS imaging device; wherein, withsaid accessory module releasably attached to said attachment member atthe vehicle windshield, said forward facing camera views through thevehicle windshield; and wherein said forward facing camera comprises acomponent of at least one of (i) an automatic headlamp control system ofthe equipped vehicle and (ii) a collision avoidance system of theequipped vehicle.
 19. The vision system of claim 18, wherein, with saidaccessory module attached to said attachment member at the vehiclewindshield, a mirror mount of an interior rearview mirror assembly canbe mounted to said mirror mounting button and can be demounted from saidmirror mounting button.
 20. The vision system of claim 19, wherein saidforward facing camera comprises a component of an automatic headlampcontrol system of the equipped vehicle.
 21. The vision system of claim20, wherein said attachment member is adhesively attached at thein-cabin surface of the vehicle windshield using an epoxy adhesive andwherein said epoxy adhesive comprises an epoxy structural bonding tape.22. A vision system for a vehicle, said vision system comprising: amirror mounting button attached at a first location at an in-cabinsurface of a windshield of a vehicle equipped with said vision system;an attachment member attached at a second location at the in-cabinsurface of the vehicle windshield; wherein a light absorbing layerdisposed at the vehicle windshield at least partially masks the presenceof said attachment member from view by a viewer who is viewing throughthe vehicle windshield from outside the equipped vehicle; wherein saidfirst location is spaced from and is separate from said second location;an accessory module releasably attached to said attachment member;wherein said accessory module accommodates a forward facing camera;wherein, with said accessory module releasably attached to saidattachment member at the vehicle windshield, said forward facing cameraviews through the vehicle windshield; wherein said forward facing cameracomprises a component of a camera-based driver assistance system of theequipped vehicle; wherein said attachment member is adhesively attachedat the in-cabin surface of the vehicle windshield and wherein saidmirror mounting button is adhesively attached at the in-cabin surface ofthe vehicle windshield; and wherein, with said accessory module attachedto said attachment member at the vehicle windshield, a mirror mount ofan interior rearview mirror assembly can be mounted to said mirrormounting button and can be demounted from said mirror mounting button.23. The vision system of claim 22, wherein said camera-based driverassistance system comprises an automatic headlamp control system andwherein said forward facing camera comprises a CMOS imaging device. 24.The vision system of claim 23, wherein said attachment member isadhesively attached at the in-cabin surface of the vehicle windshieldusing an epoxy adhesive and wherein said mirror mounting button isadhesively attached at the in-cabin surface of the vehicle windshieldusing an epoxy adhesive.
 25. The vision system of claim 24, wherein saidcamera-based driver assistance system comprises a collision avoidancesystem.